The Merry Dance Sunny Go School for Young Adults
by Mugiwara no Eli
Summary: Luffy, high school? no way! well, guess what, he is. he and his friends from the original manga are students and teachers, in a world dominated by the mafia. but will they cope with the unexpected arrival of dangerous trouble in the form of the police.
1. Chapter 1

Merry Dance Sunny Go School for Young Adults.

The girl ran. She ran like her life would end if she didn't. she rand blindly, not noticing the foot waiting for her at beside the schools fence. She tripped and the world seemed to move in slow motion. That is until she hit the ground with a hard thump.

"Ouch, ai, ai, ai." She hissed searching for the graze she knew she'd find under the school gym uniform. It was stinging like hell.

"oi." Growled a deep bass voice behind her. She started and looked up at the imposing silhouette behind her.

"Tziganu! Why aren't you running!" it was not a question, but an accusation. The girl had stopped running.

She flinched. "Roronoa san, I swear it wasn't my fault, i… i… tripped." It sounded lame, and she knew it. The gym teacher, Roronoa Zoro was not a man to go easy on his students, and reknown for his green hair. Most of the kids called him Marimo, due to the fact that his hair greatly resembled on of Japan's local treasures, the sea moss.

Zoro leered over the trembling girl. "Tziganu, for that "trip" of laziness, I'm adding another hundred to your thousand laps. The gym cycles changed every month, one month it would be jogging around the school, the next would probably be basketball, or some other sport. However, in all of these sports, Roronoa Zoro was merciless. When they had to run, it would be a thousand laps around the enormous school.

"Please, sir, it isnt laziness it was…"

"Tziganu Eli, another word from your mouth, and it'll be another five hundred laps."

Eli shut up quickly, Zoro never went back on his word.

"Yes sir, I apologise, I'll do the extra hundred."

The nightmare teacher nodded, grunting and turned to find another innocent to go and scare the shit out of.

Once he was out of sight, another girl stepped out of her hiding place between the gym hall and the fence, where the two happened to be at the time.

"Poor little Eli-chan." She leered, leaning over to look at her prey. "What happened."

"As if you didn't know, Nami-san. You deliberately got me into trouble with Marimo again didn't you."

The other girls smile widened. "Maybe."

Nami, the biggest bully in anime high. She was something along the lines of the perfect woman. Or what men would consider the perfect woman. Fine, what certain men, ok ok, what perverts would see as the perfect woman. Cruel, manipulative and with a chest that could be used to smash down a building, Nami was the most popular person, in that you sure did not want to be her enemy.

"If you don't mind, Nami san, I'm gonna finish these laps."

Nami's leer grew even wider. "You do that."

Eli turned and ran off into the distance.

The bell rang, signalling the lunch break. Eli changed into her school uniform. It wasn't a dull one, one of thos horrid skirts with blazers or stupid neckercheives. In the Merry Dance Sunny Go School for Young Adults, the uniforms were designed by the individual student, but the school crest, a ship with a crazy looking lion's head with a dancing wooden man on it's deck, had to be sewn on the back. Eli had chosen a long flowing dress, she had several of varying colours. It was so nice to be able to choose.

After changing into the bright red dress, Eli made her way to the cantine. What delicious food would be on the menu today?

The girl in the black dress opened the door to the canteen. The crowds were milling. Good not many people yet. She hurried to get her lunch and find a table away from the creeps that populated this cursed school. She walked up to the counter, fidgeting in her school bag for her wallet. She looked up. AW SHIT. The student cook was there again. For some reason, this school offered jobs to students, paying them a salary and donating a few shillings to their university fund. However, this only happened to students who were allowed to continue with their studies by night.

"Hai, another beautiful girl has come to my food heaven." Yelled the student cook. He was blond, almost half his face hidden beneath a fringe of his hair. He had curled his eyebrow in a weird way and his beautifully blue eyes had a nasty habit of turning into hearts when a girl walked by, particularly that bitch Nami.

"Um, hi, uhh…" it was only then that the girl realised she didn't know his name.

"Sanji." Said the student, holding out a hand.

"Sanji." Said the girl, taking it in her own. The student took the hand that he now grasped, turned it at a ninty degree angle, and pressed his lips to the skin. The girl pulled her hand back, disgusted. What did this guy take her for? Another Nami whore?

"Enchate, mademoiselle…" he looked at her expectantly.

"Tsuki." She replied, annoyed that she couldn't treat the school's adults as she did her fellow classmates. Which was to ignore them completely so that they left her alone. They only knew her name because of the register.

"Tsuki, the star." Sanji grinned. "and you sparkle like one"

Tsuki rolled her eyes. This guy was a complete idiot.

Sanji pulled out a cigarette, stuck it in his mouth and lit one end. "want one."

"I don't smoke, thank you." She said coldly.

"suit yourself. Well what can I offer you from SANJI'S SUPER AWESOME SPECIAL MENU OF THE DAY."

Tsuki glanced at it. "Ummm, a small portion of the onion salad."

"Coming right up, Tsuki star." If he didn't shut up soon, she was gonna punch him.

What must be understood about Tsuki is that she was an orphan, like a lot of the kids here. But unlike them, she had actually known her parents, or at least her father, until fairly recently. Her mother had died of Pneumonia when she was about eleven, and her father had been killed before her very eyes by the Black Beard Mafia, a group of roaming mafiosi who killed anyone who walked down the same strip of road as they did. They'd set the whole town ablaze just so that it wouldn't proove that they were as ugly as hell. Her brother had then been taken as a hostage in an attempt to try and wrangle some money out of the survivors, that meant Tsuki. She had been the sole survivor, and social survices had rallied up the money to put her up in a boarding school. This boarding school. Like most of the other orphans that were sent through social services.

"Here you are, Tsuki-chan, one onion salad made with never ending love."

Tsuki tried not to roll her eyes. "arigato."

She walked off in search of a table. She found a nice one, a corner one which seated two. Knowing the people in this school, she'd probably be left alone. At that moment, the crowds surged.

Two boys entered the room first, one clutching a hat, both trying to make a dash to the hole where the students were served their food, so that they could get some good stuff. The new chef didn't like precooking meals, and so the food was always fresh, which suited all the kids just fine.

"Oh, if it isnt Luffy, the kid who'd eat anything." The boy with the hat grinned cheekily. "ok, everything on a plate, right." The boys grin widened and he nodded. "coming right up." Said the chef, annoyance clearly colouring his tone. Half an hour later, he came out with a plate piled with so much food, it brushed the door frame as he exited.

"Wait for me Luffy. I'll have the chicken curry, please."

"coming."

"Ne, Usopp! Hurry up, or I'm gonna finish before we find a table."

"YOU'RE EATING ALREADY!"

"duh, I'm starving."

"Here you go." Said the cook, handing the second boy a plate of marinated chicken.

"now where do we sit." He said, squinting around for a free table that wasn't Nami's personal zone. The bully had hogged a table all to herself and her cronies.

"Lets go over there." Said the one with a hat, called Luffy. He was pointing to the far corner, wher a girl in a black dress was sitting on her own, with another table next to her free.

"Are you kidding, that's Tenshi no Tsuki!"

"So? And who is she?"

"are you serious Luffy, she's been in our class for nearly two years."

"hey, she always sat behind me. I don't look around."

"you narcolep, you always fall asleep in class."

"not my fault. Ah well if you don't go and sit there I will."

"Oi, Luffy, wait." Usopp's words came too late, luffy had already plonked himself down beside the frightening looking girl.

"Hi, I'm Monkey D Luffy, nice to meet you." He offered his hand. Tsuki, for that was who the girl was, just glared at him. He laughed. "You're funny." Tsuki just glared at him even more.

"I'm Usopp, I'm in your class, nice to meet you…"

"I know you two, you're in my class. You're the excuse maker, Pinocchio, and you're the narcolep, Strawhat."

Luffy chuckled, "Yep that's us." At the same time, usopp had yelled "Pinocchio!" he clutched his overly long nose.

"Oi, Chopper!" Luffy suddenly yelled to a short guy with a pink top hat, clutching a tray and looking fairly lost. His anxious face broke into a smile.

"Luffy!" he yelled, rushing over to meet his friends. Chopper was two years below the rest, who were all about to graduate and with any luck go of to university. Nevertheless, Luffy had been very kind to the poor boy, for his class shunned him for wanting to be a vet, and his love of animals made the guys fairly aggressive towards him, and his shy, gentle nature made the girls think he was cute. At least, all the girls except Nami, who had played him like a harp during his first year after discarding him. And nobody wanted to annoy Nami. Unless it was the slightly naïve and stupid Luffy.

"Wha' dig ya jus' 'av' Chopp?" asked Luffy full a mouthful of food. A translation for all those who don't speak mouthful : "what did you just have Chopp?"

"Biology. You?"

"Music, you'd be surprised how fun Brook san can be when he makes up songs."

"Maybe."

At Merry Sunny School, as the students had shortened it, one got to choose the subjects they were most interested in. English, a second language, a basic maths and gym were all compulsory. The rest was up to the students, as long as they had a minimum of five subjects.

"What subjects are you doing, Tsuki san?" asked Luffy, getting another dagger look from the scorching violet eyes.

"ok, ok, I was only trying to be polite."

At that moment a girl in a red dress sat down opposite Tsuki.

"oh, we've got company today?"

"Sho it would sheem." Said tsuki between clenched teeth.

"Hi, I'm Tziganu Eli, nice to meet ya."

"Monkey D Luffy."

"Usopp."

"Tony-Tony Chopper."

"Hi." Eli smiled, turning to each of them, and shaking hands. "what made you guys join us today?"

"No tables, except Nami's private area."

Eli's face darkened. "That girl! She's the reason I'm late. She tripped me up in gym and Marimo decided it was laziness, so another hundred laps."

"Ouch, poor you."

"Thanks Chopper!"

"can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why are you sitting here with…" Usopp nodded at tsuki, who was making an effort to ignore everything around her.

"We're roommates, and she's always alone, and so am i."

"o…k."

Luffy laughed, "This is fun, we'll come and sit here tomorrow."

"Oi, Luffy don't just assume that."

"It's alright Usopp, we'd like the company."

Tsuki jerked her head up and looked at Eli. "Don't answer for me, Tziganu."

"Sorry, does that mean they cant?"

"Come if you wish, but don't expect my company to be any different."

Luffy laughed. "See you here tomorrow."

"Ok, see you then." Said Eli, as the bell went to signal the beginning of the afternoon. "come on, we've got free, let's go to the library. If we're lucky, Franky san might give us some cola."

"Whatever." Grumbled Tsuki following Eli to where the trays were stashed. "Thanks for keeping quiet about.."

"Don't mention it. But lets go!" the two girls left the cantine, each feeling like the world might not be so bad after all. That is until they saw Nami trying to seduce Ace.

Ace was Tsuki's boyfriend, of sorts. Being a student counselor, meant he didn't have much to do, so he basically just slept in his office. Charged with fighting with students and general antisocial behaviour, Tsuki had been sent to see him on several occasions, and recently Ace had revealed his affections for the girl. Being twenty years old, making him only three years older than she, meant that this could not be seen as child abuse, nor could it be seen as pedophilia, so the two had started going out.

"That bitch!" hissed Tsuki, preparing to attack Nami. She dashed towards the pair. Ace was grinning his stupid grin, and playing with Nami. He knew what she was doing, and he was playing back.

"Oi, Nami!" yelled Tsuki, her fist about to make contact with the girls "beautiful" face. That's when a hand came out of nowhere.

"Tsuki san," said a soft female voice. "Fighting is strictly forbidden, as I think you know well."

"Yes robin san."

A tall, beautiful woman was standing there, clutching tsuki's arm. Robin was teacher of ancient history at Merry Sunny School.

"Run along," she said

"Yes Robin san."

"Eli, I'd like a word."

"yes Robin san"

"it's about your visions."


	2. Chapter 2

**"Let's meet the Team"**

"it's about your visions." Said Robin. "my office if you don't mind." You would've thought that she was annoyed by the words she spoke, but on the contrary, she was smiling her trademark smile, that of one who knows all and accepts all. This fact gave her undying loyalty from the students, who often came to her rather than Ace, who was also a good listener, but his build and smile seemed often a tad young, so serious problems often came to the headmistress. Yes Nico Robin was the headmistress of Merry Sunny School. Not only was she the headmistress, but she also insisted on teaching ancient history, which she combined with hands on archaeology, sending her pupils to ongoing digs all over the world. It was common knowledge that Nico Robin had loads of money, she was commended for her charity work towards orphans, and therefore had won loads of prizes. We have already met a few, Tsuki, Eli, and Chopper, as well as the hated Nami. Aswell as this charity, Robin also offered jobs to the old students, if they wanted them. For example, Nami's adopted sister, Nojiko was head of the art department. Kids like Luffy were in the school because they had family there, Ace being Luffy's brother helped a lot, but not knowing either of his parents technically could allow him to be considered an orphan. Robin had put in place a system for such matters: she and the other teachers would each mentor a pupil, making them welcome, and thereby taking away the feel of an orphanage. It was not the desired effect to make the students feel that they didn't have anywhere else to go, and had to be adopted to enter.

That's not to say that the school's population was made up of nothing but orphans, or ersatz orphans, taking Luffy's example, far from it, for example, Usopp's father was what people called a "good mafiosi." This meant that he was part of a mafia gang who existed for its members to be free, unlike the Black Beard Mafia, the Red Haired Mafia tried to take what they wanted without hurting too many people.

"Eli chan, my office." Smiled Robin.

Eli nodded, what else could she do, there was no opposing Robin. "Hai, Robin san. See you later, Tsuki." She trotted after the headmistress.

They walked through the courtyard towards the huge building at the far end, where the teachers lounge, mentors offices (more commonly reffered to as "confessionals", due to the fact that anyone who entered was more than likely to confess to some deed or other to their mentor) and headmistress's study were located. This last item, which is what we are interested in, was situated on the ground floor, opposite the entrance, behind a pair of huge wooden doors, carved with animals, lions and dragons, creatures of both myth and reality. They would have looked quite imposing, were they not housing the most gentle of teachers. Only one child had ever been expelled.

Roronoa Zoro, at the age of sixteen, was failing all his subjects, except gym. He had never cared for education, he slept through his classes, but unlike Luffy, he was not a narcolep, he just couldn't be bothered. Robin had had to kick him out because of this. He'd tried and failed many jobs, including the McDonalds drive-ins, and his debts were rapidly increasing, particularly at the local pub. He'd gone back to Robin a year later, begging to replace the old gym teacher, who had died in a freak accident: a kendo bamboo sword had shoved his nose into his brain. Robin had been more than happy to give him the job.

They entered the office, Robin offering Eli a seat in the comfortable purple armchair by the window. Nearly everything in this room was purple, or contained a hint of it. The walls were a light, creamy yellow, with huge bay windows letting daylight slip through. The carpet was persian, containing mostly red and purple colours, though dotted with others, such as blues and greens and browns. The curtains were of purple velvet, as were the numerous arm chairs and the sofa. Pictures decorated the walls, all of them masterpieces created by old students, who sent them to Robin as thank you presents. The desk was made from teak and the leather arm chair behind it was black. Excepting the computer, a windows xp, and the numerous pieces of paper arranged in neat piles, all the office utensils were purple: purple holepunch, purple stapler, purple paper sorter, even purple paper clips. Nearly every inch of wall space that wasn't being taken up by paintings and chairs was situated a wooden bookshelf, pile high with purple tomes. Robin was well known for buying books and then sending them to the local bookbinder to have the cover replaced with a purple one of her own design.

Robin sat in the armchair opposite eli, still smiling. "right, Eli. Have you seen anything this week?' Eli was the school's clairvoyant. She could predict things at will, though tended not to, she had told the headmistress often that this was a very uncomfortable experience, and so Robin had told her to stop trying. However, in times of need, the girl, whose intuitive skills were so great people said she could read minds, would see things automatically.

"No, Robin san."

"and you would tell me if you had?"

"hai, Robin san, I couldn't keep anything from my mentor."

Robin nodded, still smiling. It was true that Eli couldn't keep anything from Robin. No one could.

"so now that you're here, tell me what happened today."

So Eli did, she told her about Nami's trip during gym and Zoro's reaction to it. She told her about lunch with Luffy and his friends, she even told her about her anxieties with the student chef.

The problem there was that Sanji fell in love with women on sight. Between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, all the girls that were in that category were eligible for a heart eyed chef, but not Eli. The reason was a mystery. This last factor made Robin chuckle.

"So you're jealous."

"No, Robin san, I'm envious. There's a difference. I'm the only girl in my class without a boyfriend, and it's getting on my nerves."

"Oh? So who's Tsuki going out with?"

Eli opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but I've been sworn to secrecy, it's not my secret to tell."

Robin nodded. "ah well, never mind, there has to be someone somewhere who's perfect for you. Wait for him."

Eli smiled, "Hai, Robin san."

"You can go.'

"hai robin san."

Eli left the office, she opened the door and walked right into someone. "I'm really sorry…." Her apology broke off as she looked up. The person she had run into was the person she had absolutely no wish to see, especially not today.

"Tziganu! For that, I'll have you join the gymnastics club."

"calm down, Roronoa san, Eli chan was just leaving. I know the gymnastics club is unpopular, but that's no reason to force her, is it."

Relieved that Robin was helping her, eli turned and bowed to her headmistress.

"Now run along Eli chan."

And Eli did without a moment's hesitation. Once out of the building, she ran to find Tsuki in the library.

"Puh, idiot girl." Snorted the green haired gym teacher.

"did you want to see me Zoro san?" asked the headmistress, smiling.

"you know I did! Don't manipulate me omna!"

"very well, come in." chuckled Robin.

Zoro grunted and entered the purple office. He stared at the woman walking over to the desk.

"do have a seat." He sat on the chair opposite her and stuck his feet up on the desk. Robin smiled, but didn't tell him to stop, she knew there'd be no point.

"may I ask what's troubling you?"

"That girl, for starters. She's lazy and stinks at gym"

"we cant all be brilliant, olympic quality sportsmen and women, Roronoa san."

Zoro grunted, "Yeh I know that, but she doesn't even try, I mean, I found her lying on the ground doing nothing."

"maybe that's because she was hurt?"

"Huh, weakling." Spat the evil gym teacher.

"anyway, was there anything else?"

At that point the gym teacher blushed. His schoolboy crush on his headmistress had not dissipated. He still loved her.

"I want to start another club, the gymnastics one is crumbling, nobody likes the subject anymore."

"What did you have in mind?"

"a kendo club."

"you still enjoy sword fighting it would seem. However, I don't think limiting it would get people interested. What about the weaponary club, then you could teach the students to use a particular weapon to the best of their ability."

Zoro gritted his teeth, she was right, again. This was why he loved her, she never scrapped his ideas, but messed them up a bit making them so much better than anything he could come up with.

"Hai, headmistress."

"if that's all, you may go Roronoa san."

"good bye, headmistress." He said, bowing when he reached the doorway. He closed the door and left.

Robin turned to look out on the urban view of the village where the school was situated. The cars and skyscrapers were not the view she'd have asked for, but the school profited from it. Not for the first time, she found herself wondering about the gym teacher. He was almost exactly like a child. She'd been only twenty five when she'd expelled him, and look where that had got him. She hoped he didn't hate her for it. His antics always made her feel for him, and not just sympathy. She shook her head, trying to get the roiling emotions within her to settle. She'd have to control herself. Not for the first time, she wondered how Tenshi no Tsuki, Zoro's protogee, coped with her green haired mentor.

As long as she's good at gym, I guess it doesn't matter. Heaving a sigh, Robin turned back to her notes. She always wrote down whatever she was told by her students, and filed them away in a large purple folder. Or make that two, Nami had a file full of complaints from students, but Robin was reluctant to expel another. As well as that, Robin had liked the girl. This was not a decision to be made lightly. Robin wrote everything down, and filed them in the appropriate files.

God, help me find a solution for that girl, she thought. She shut the file, and decided that tea in the cantine would be just what the doctor oredered.


	3. Chapter 3

**A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum**

Chopper was standing outside the music room, waiting for his friends to exit. It was the day after they had sat with the girl with scary eyes, who didn't talk, and her roommate, the really nice girl in the red dress. She'd seemed real fun, nice, nothing like the girls in his year, all of whom avoided him, as did all the guys. When were they going to listen to him, he was not gay, he was just sensitive. Whenever he told anyone that, they just snorted, did a totally gay teapot pose and said "oooooooouh, in touch with your feminin side, ducky?" Chopper hated nearly everyone at this school, the people in his class, the people in the playground. His mentor, the biology teacher, was an elderly woman who insisted on "retaining her youth" as she called it. She was continually drinking sake, and always wore the kind of clothes one would expect a teenager to wear. Her real name was Kureha, but because of her phd in medecine, she insisted that she be called Doctorine, a named of her own invention, which she was very proud of. "Honestly" she'd often say, "How many people do you know who'd find a way of making the name doctor sound cute by taking the word "doctrin". Ya happy?"

Thinking of Doctorine made Chopper instantly wish to see her. But he'd promised Luffy and Usopp that he'd wait for them. What could be keeping them so long; the bell had gone and everyone had left. Chopper was lucky that he had a free period right afterwards, as did they, otherwise Doctorine would have not only killed him, but scared the shit out of him while doing so. Chopper had only two choices, to wait or to leave. He debated thouroughly with himself, wait or leave, wait or leave

Just then, the door opened, revealing something horrifying, something dreadful.

"Yohohohohohoho! So you're the person who young Usopp san would be waiting for them"

"WWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAHHHH! A whale head!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH WHERE!?"

Suddenly a huge pointed noise pointed revealed itself from behind the door. "Chopper,"it said. "thank goodness you're here!"

"WAH! A TALKING NOSE!"

"it's me you idiot, usopp!" cried the offended.

"Don't scare me like that!" said Chopper recovering his breath.

"yohohohoho! I agree, Tony-Tony kun."

"Anyway, Chopp, we need a doctor, luffy's asleep again, and I dunno how to wake him up safely."

Chopper nodded, waking a narcolep required special knowhow. However, there was the creepy man sitting next to them

"Who's this?" chopper asked Usopp.

"Professor Brook, teacher of music."

Chopper frowned, he'd heard that name before. "the one luffy said was really funny yesterday at lunch." Usopp nodded. Chopper inspected this unknown teacher. He was tall, roughly 180 cm, made even taller by the huge affro he had grown on his head. He wore glasses very similar to those of the beatle John Lennon, a top hat and a suit with a ruffled collar, and a necktie. His features were pointed, a long straight nose, a long thin face with almost hollow cheeks. He was made even taller by the cane he held in his hand, using it to steady himself and get over the shock of having been frightened by the short boy. "Please enter." He panted. And so Chopper did.

Luffy was slumped over his desk, drool dribbling from his open mouth. His mouth was moving up and down, and he almost looked like he was eating. Chopper pulled out a plastic bag. In it was something that looked like salt. Technically, it was, but it was exactly the amount to wake Luffy. Narcolepsy has to be treated, but as Luffy refused to let anyone come near him with drugs, apparently due to the fact that his mentor and brother, Ace, had forbidden it, he had never been treated. Chopper discovered that a pinch of salt when Luffy's mouth was moving, as it was now and, in fact, as it nearly always was, would provide enough stimulus to wake him up. This Chopper did, and Luffy's eyes flew wide open.

"LUNCH!" he hollered, jumping out of his seat.

"Dead wrong." yelled Usopp, "It's free!"

"Oh." Said the perplexed Luffy, scratching his head. " Might as well just stay here."

"there isn't a class here, and I'm free too." Chirped the music teacher.

"tell us a story Brook!"

"Oi, Luffy, how many times do I have to tell you to call your teachers san!" said Usopp, clapping a hand to his forhead.

"Shall I tell you my story?"

"YES!"

"please," added Chopper, trying to make up for Luffy's complete obliviousness to decorum.

"Very well," said the thin man, who didn't mind Luffy's rudeness at all. "Before coming here two years ago, I was nothing more than a pauper." His voice resonated through the small music room, deep and soothing, almost as if he were singing the words rather than simply talking to a bunch of pupils. "I had nothing except the violin my father had made for me, and a few rags to wear. It was that violin that got me a job." He sighed whistfully. "I decided that the only thing I could do to make money was to become a street performer, but nobody on the streets here had the time of day to listen to some violinist on the street. I moved on. At that time i had nowhere to sleep until one night, in the middle of a thunderstorm, I lay under a jutting edge of a building so as to sheild myself from the worst of it. That's when I met the mafiosi." Brook's voice took on an air of complete happiness. "He was working undercover with his men, having taken over a zoo to keep a low profile for a while before going off to do what white mafiosi do. Anyway, he allowed me to enter, and as one of the mafiosi, I kept myself occupied by continuing the streetperforming, except I now sat before the Whale Enclosure. That's where I met my closest friend and my biggest fan, the whale Laboon."

"Oh I've seen him, he's a giant!" yelled Luffy.

"Yeh we saw him at the zoo, together. He was so cool." Agreed Usopp.

"you did, I wouldn't know, we had to leave the zoo, for the police were cathcing up to us. We left him weeping." Tears leaked from the mans spectacles. "and that's where sorrow struck us. We had not gone far, but winter was approaching, and she came quickly that year, and the remnants of the foot and mouth disease that had been plaguing the zoo were harsh, it killed the whole mafiosi group I'd joined, except me. Somehow, my immune system was so great that I was able to withstand it. But Laboon surely died, along with all the other animals. That's when Robin san found me and offered me the job of teacher of music. And I'm glad I seized the chance. But it would be nice to be able to see Laboon again."

"Well I'm sure he's not dead." Said Luffy. "we freed the animals, and last I saw he was waiting for someone at a cave, I bet it's you!"

"Plus, Whales don't suffer from foot and mouth."

"Really, oh thank you!" sobbed the violinist. "I must ask you to leave, you have made me too happy!"

The three left the classroom.

"I dunno whether to believe that or not. I mean, to be honest, it sounded like a pile of bullcrap." Said Usopp once they'd actually left the building and were out of Brook's earshot.

"Yeh, sounded like the kinda lie you'd tell Sopp." Laughed Luffy.

"Oi, Luffy, Not True! That was Low!" spluttered the indignant victim.

Chopper wasn't listening. Or rather, he was, but he wasn't giving the tiny fight between his two friends much notice. His desire to see his mentor was now burning fiercely in the pit of his stomach. He had to tell her he'd succeeded.

"Come on, lets go to the library and get a cola off Franky!" yelled Luffy, "Then we can sit and enjoy the sunshine." For it was one of those blazing march days where the sun shone and the temperature decided to be hotter than in the summer.

"ummm, if it's ok with you guys, I really wanna see my mentor."

"And you had to ask us to do that?" asked Usopp sarcastically. Unfortunately for Chopper, sarcasm was still a foreign language to him.

"Yes."

"go you idiot!" said usopp rolling his eyes.

"Hai, Usopp san." Said Chopper, gratefully, which caused Usopp to bonk him on the head.

"What was that for?!" yelled Chopper.

"For making me look like your master, you dolt! Next time, don't bother asking, just tell us you're going, kay? Aren't we friends?"

"Hai."

"Then let me define friendship. You accept what the other persons about to do, unless it is something really stupid, like idiot king here." Usopp jerked his head at Luffy who laughed.

"Have fun." Yelled the boy in the straw hat as his youngest friend set off at a run to his mentors office.


	4. Chapter 4

**Doctor Doctor**

Chopper knocked on Doctorine's office door.

"Who is it? If it's about the essay for Friday, I'm not changing the deadline, ya happy?" said the hag like Doctorine upon Chopper's knock.

"Doctorine, it's Chopper."

"Like I said, ya happy stupid apprentice?"

"This has nothing to do with the bio essay!"

"you gonna tell me what it's about then, stupid apprentice?"

"Hai Doctorine!" smiled the boy, "I've just been told the meaning of friendship."

"Huh? Who by?"

"By my friends!" Doctorine stiffened. She'd heard those words before.

"Chopper, get in here now." For those who havent a clue as to what's been going on, Doctorine refused to let students into her study for any reason, unless it was a really important emergency type case. Students who came to see her usually just sat outside the door and yelled through the woodwork, Doctorine would not listen to plees for extended deadlines or test date changes inside her office, that would be a waste of time, specially as she never adhered to the plee. That didn't stop certain idiotic pupils from trying.

Chopper pushed open the door. This wasn't the first time he'd entered his mentor's study.

It was a large circular room, like the tower of a castle. It looked exactly like one. Doctorine had Franky help her heave huge stone, which had been flattened on one side, and then cement them to the wall. The room looked medieval in that respect. Books hung on shelves that lined the walls, and cabinets were nearly everywhere, holding specimens, powders, liquids and that kind of glutinous stuff doctor's shove down kids throats while telling them it'll make them feel better. There were also jars holding pieces of anatomy, both animal and plant, and bandages were stacked neatly in a huge plastic baskets, like the kind parents and cleaners use to store clothes that have been washed and ironed so that they might be put away by the owners. The floor was bare and of marble and in the center of the room, a huge desk sporting a bunsen burner, a beaker of whatever Doctorine happened to be testing at the time a microscope, a not pad for the results to be written down on and remembered and finally a pile of homework yet to be corrected. Doctorine loved to give homework and tests, but hated marking them. The room, Chopper decided, would not look out of place in a play on medieval witches. Doctorine hated it, but the students would call her a hag. How lucky they were that they didn't all get the privilege of seeing the interieur of her office. Chopper was used to it, however, and it kind of made him feel at home. Yeah, he was a bit of a freak.

"not this "friends" stuff again Chopper!" yelled the hag. The boys head sagged. He knew she was right.

"Do you remember what happened the last time you came in here telling me about bloody friendship? Huh?" Chopper shuddered. How could he forget.

"You came in here, yelling about having finally found a friend. Of course I was happy for you. Then it transpired that Nami was a manipulative cow, treating you as little more than a slave."

"But Luffy…. Usopp said that."

"I don't care what they said. Listen to me. people insist on using you chopper. The next thing you know, they'll get you to do their homework like that little hag did. You'll end up doing everything again. History shall repeat itself." Tears were rolling down chopper's cheeks, and as they were also tumbling down Doctorines, she turned her back on him. It didn't do to have one's protogee see you care too much. Chopper was kureha's one and only protogee, she'd never allowed any other student to be mentored by her, which, for those who didn't realise, was the only case at the Merry Sunny School. She hated teenagers, and only took the job cos she was running low on sake money. And that prat Hiluluk had forced her.

A sad smile crossed her face as she remembered that quack with the really weird hairdo. It was his job she had taken, but honestly, there had been no other option. Doctorine looked over at the boy kneeling on the floor at the opposite end of the room. Yes, she'd done her best.

Doctor Hiluluk, as he called himself, was a quack doctor, who dabbled in ancient wisdoms, more commonly referred to as "spells", as a means of curing illness. His running around and insistance that people take the bullshit he was giving them earned him a very bad reputation. It was during on of these "run away from the shouting angry mob". Turns out that the Egyptian healers were a bit delusional. The idea of shoving a pigs stomach in the ear to cure blindness, Hiluluk now realised, was madness as it did nothing to improve the eyesiht, but left the patient with a deaf ear. So while running away from the angry mob of blind people who's ears were now blocked with pig stomachs, with the help of their guidedogs of course, they were not simply running into walls, Hiluluk ran into a side alley where he tripped over a body. The body of a boy.

Upon examination, Hiluluk discovered that the boy was covered in wounds, most of which were bleeding, and black and blue bruises the size of eggs were pertruding from his small back. Hiluluk had taken the child to his appartment, as he called it, or as the general public called it, his tree house. Truth is, Hiluluk wasn't allowed to get a proper apartment in that the several he had inhabited up to date had been completely ruined by his experiments and word spreads fast, meaning he was not allowed to rent another. So with very little money, let's just say that being a crackpot magician/doctor did not get you much in the way of a salary. Therefore a tree house was the only way Hiluluk was bound to be able to live and keep up his experiments in peace.

Anyway. In the treehouse, Hiluluk looked after Chopper, but not as a magician, but as a real doctor. Even Hiluluk knew when best to keep the experiments that could be a pile of bullcrap to a minimum, and the only time that happened was when someone's life was in danger. And the boy's was. He had been shot in the back at least three times. Hiluluk worked tirelessly over the boy, using the best of his knowledge to remove the bullets and bandage the boy up.

When he first awoke in the treehouse, the boy said nothing. as it transpired the boy didn't say anything for over a week and as such Hiluluk decided that the boy was either mute or in shock. He didn't try to use any of his stupid theories. Who knew how these things would affect the wounds already treated. When he finally decided to talk, he gradually revealed himself to have been abandoned on a doorstep at birth. That he'd been shunted from house to house and had never been given a name. in the backstreets of town, no one wanted an extra mouth to feed, or they just didn't feel capable of looking after a young baby. As he grew up, he started running away. Apparently the bullets fired into his back happened when he'd tried to steal money from a mafiosi hide out without realising whose money it was, and was shot at. The mafia he'd stolen from had probably assumed him dead, or had let him live. No one really wanted the blood of an eleven year old kid on their hands.

Taking pity on the poor lad, hiluluk took him under his wing and together they tried to cure the sick through "magical" means. And that meant getting chased for it.

It was during this time that Hiluluk told Chopper of the myth of the all curing cherry blossom. Chopper listened avidly as the man described the trees of his local legend. It was amazing. It became even more amazing when Hiluluk claimed to have found them, and was now planning to genetically create an all curing sakura right here. But the experiment had failed up until now. Chopper then decided to help his friend, for that was who Hiluluk had become for him.

Another week passed and there was no success. However during that week, hiluluk started calling his guest Chopper. Puzzled Chopper asked why this was, and the middleaged man explained that that was the name he'd decided to give him.

One of Chopper's prevailing memories was of the day Hiluluk told him he had a name. "it's your name," the quack had said. "Tony-Tony Chopper, fun isnt it?" apparently Hiluluk had been to an italian restaurant recently and had met his friend Antonio. Antonio believed that Hiluluk's ideas of witchcraft must have a basis in fact somehow. So the surname was a derivative of Antonio, or as he was known to his mates, Toni. The Chopper part came from the fact that Antonio, being a cook was always cutting carrots and the like, and every time he did so, he'd start yelling "CHOP CHOP CHOP!" And so Tony-Tony Chopper was baptized. "It's a manly name," said Hiluluk "That will strike fear into men's hearts and they will think twice before taking advatnage." Pity was loads of people did make fun of Chopper's name.

Pretty soon afterwards, Hiluluk was diagnosed with cancer of the fifth level. That meant he only had two weeks maximum to live. By that time, Robin had asked him to take a job at the school. She'd asked him to be the bio teacher, mainly because no one else was willing. He was due to start in two weeks. He had gone immediately to his good friend Kureha and begged her to look after Chopper and to do him a favour. He had pulled out a bottle of oil and told her to spray it over the roots of a cherry tree and it would bloom for altime. Scathingly, Kureha had promised, taking the bottle, sure this was another joke of the quack's. Chopper upon getting wind of his precious mentor's illness, he'd heard him coughing in the middle of the night, asked what was the matter. Hiluluk then realised that he couldn't put the kid through with the knowledge that he would die. He kicked Chopper out, telling him that he didn't want patients who werent sick to clutter up his work space. Chopper was of course mortified. He deliberately hurt himself so as to be able to rejoin his father figure, only to be turned away each and everytime. Chopper then decided to look in the woods for a mushroom he'd seen in a book. It was said that the ancient vikings to cure all diseases. Chopper brought it back, after much toil, having passed through several mafia territories, and getting beaten up at every stage.

Hiluluk ate the mushroom his apprentice gave him, the sight of Chopper was enough to make his pity peak. He knew that he had shortened his life to two days, for the mushroom was poisonous. He told chopper he was taking a road trip to try and find more ingredients. He had barely left, when ten minutes later, Kureha appeared in his doorway, calling for him. Chopper explained how he'd been cured from his cancer by a mushroom, and Kureha explained how Hiluluk was about to die.

Devastated, Chopper ran after his master, but by the time he found the great quack, he was already dead. And so Chopper had started school at the Merry Sunny School along with Kureha, for he had been homeschooled up until that point. And that's when the whole alienation from the class and Nami's bullying had started.

"Listen Chopper, I am here to support you." Said the mentor. "I really don't want to have to treat another case of broken heart, ok?"

"Ok." Choked the boy.

"Run along then." And she added when he was gone. "My foolish son."


	5. Chapter 5

**The flipside of the coin**

Nami was sitting in art, bored out of her mind and doodling characters from her imagination onto her paper. Looking at the picture was like looking into some sort of wild and outrageous universe.

"We need to talk Nami" said the teacher. "Come see me after the lesson."

Nami nodded, knowing that this particular teacher would just hold onto her arm the moment she tried to exit the classroom in her usual catlike manner.

When the bell rang, Nami sat on her desk and waited while the other people left. The teacher turned to face her. "What have you been doing, idiot girl."

Nami clenched her fists. Life sucked, so there was no point in telling anyone anything. The teacher sighed and sat down, head resting against her hand.

"Hah, it's hard being a mentor to you. How on earth does that woman even try to think that I'd make a good role model for my little sister!" Yes, meet Nami's elder sister Nojiko. To be brutally honest, they werent really sisters. They were adopted, somewhat illegally by a police woman who called herself Bellemere, which is ironic in that it means stepmother in the beautiful language that is French. Bellemere found the two in a wreckage; another mafia! They were popping up like maggots in a corpse. Bellemere had taken an instant liking to the girls. Her body clock was ticking and she hadnt had time for children. And these two had fired up her mother's instincts.

"AHHH! If only Bellemere san was here. She'd know what to tell you."

Nami's nails were digging into the palm of her hand. It was at times like this that she hated Nojiko. Why'd she have to be so annoying?

"Well she's not here, so mind telling me what you've got to so I can just leave?" This was another front. Nami knew exactly what Nojiko was about to say.

"You've been up to your old tricks again. And I have been called by Robin." Nojiko held up a mobile phone, which bore the same design as she did.

Nojiko was a tall young woman, who was around twenty one. She had a mop of curly, seemingly untameable blue hair. It wasn't blue, but a sort of white tinged with the palest of blues. Across her shoulders, she had an extensive blue tattoo. She always said it was due to the ancient celts, who always dyed their skin blue as a mark of feirceness. Though, to be honest, she just thought it was pretty. Unless, a heart just atop your breasts is supposed to be frightening (a little help here, any guys reading this?). The design then waved gracefully towards her arm, giving off the image of the sea. On her forarm was a triple tattoo bangle with spots underneath, apparently inspired by the bangles worn by the ancient Egyptian goddess. For those who havent noticed by now, Nojiko had a real thing for myths and legends. Or at least the artistic side of them. She was always putting on theatre productions. The setting was famous, as were the costumes and the makeup. Nojiko had so much fun in this job.

"Nami, this time Robin's really serious. She'll expel you. Why havent you been going to classes?"

"You know the answer!"

Nami stared into Nojiko's face. Ahhh what was with that makeup! It was so distracting. Nojiko had a bad habit of wearing lipstick that was much lighter than her skin colour, making her lips unnaturally pale. She did the same with her eyeshadow. Nami hadnt the heart to tell her sister that her makeup sense was crap.

"Just cos I know the answer doesn't mean I have to accept what you're doing blindly. Bellemere san would…"

"Don't you dare tell me that Bellemere san would have told me education was important! She never cared about education. We didn't even go to primary school." Nami bit her lip. The abject poverty she had been submitted to as a child still haunted her. Police work was severely underpaid, and when Bellemere quit in order to be able to look after the two foundlings, they lost their sense of income almost altogether. Had it not been for Bellemere's passion for tangarines, they would've starved. The tangerines didn't fetch much either, as supermarkets refused point blanc to be "providing the public with dodgy tangerines." The many meals of tangerine jam, without anything else, and roast tangerine, and mulled wine a la tangerine still haunted Nami's stomach. However, Nami still kept a tiny tangerine shrub in memory of her late parent.

Bellemere had died on the eve of Nami's eleventh birthday. The Arlong mafia. No the Arlong Branch of the Mafia had come and almost destroyed their town, killing Bellemere in the process. Had Nami not promised him a hundred thousand in cash, everyone Nami cared about would have died horrible, slow, painful deaths by now. The reason Arlong, the muscle bound giant of a man actually listened? Good question. Nami had exceptional visual skills. All one had to do was describe a face and she could draw the exact likeness. Forget the computer programs the police used, Nami was almost intuitive in her drawings. Arlong had seen her talent, and realised it's worth. It was really handy to know the face of the guy you wanted to kill.

Nami's right fist uncurled and clutched itself around her shoulder. Nojiko looked at her sister, knowing the pain and responsibility the eighteen year old bore on her shoulders.

"you know, you could always tell…"

"I'm not telling that idiot Robin anything! She wont understand, no one in this bloody school will."

"Maybe you just havent actually tried them. Maybe there are people who would listen to your troubles. Maybe…"

"Maybe Hell'd freeze over!" yelled Nami.

"Look, just cos you don't feel any way of approaching people about this, doesn't mean you have to take your anger out on them and be the most hated person in the school. Cos that's what you're doing Nami! I hear the students whispering about you. You're feared and hated."

"Good, "it is safer to be feared than loved." As Machiavelli once said."

"Nami, he said that about rulers, not students."

"it still applies."

Nojiko snapped. She slapped Nami across the cheek. "stop this. You're not the little girl I grew up with. Hell, I don't even know if you're my sister anymore."

Nami was trembling. "Maybe that's what people like you did to me."

Nojiko crumpled to the floor, hand over her mouth, eyes wide. "Nami…" she sighed in a hurt tone. Tears filled her eyes.

Nami stiffened, doing what she had learned during seven years of being a part of the mafia, hiding her tears.

"don't ever try to lecture me again."

Nami stormed out of the bright art classroom and into the deserted corridor. She ran to the girls toilet.

Once she arrived, she pulled her feet up on the seat, hugging her knees to her chest. It didn't work too well. The boob job Arlong had forced her into taking made it almost impossible to really hug her knees, so she had to content herself with smushing the implants against her knees. She wept, keeping the sobs noise to a minimum, yet another thing she'd learned from that devil.

Using a piece of looroll to wipe around her eyes, carefully not smudging her makeup, she tried to get her breathing under control. That's when she heard the voices.

"but Luffy, sitting next to that girl again is emo! You got a death wish or something?"

"What's emo?"

"its… awwh never mind."

"Eli says she's been through a lot, which is why she doesn't like people."

"Whatever, she's still dangerous."

"She'll lighten up eventually."

"Why do you have so much confidence in what others'll do, eejit!"

"What's that sposed to mean?"

"Stop making judgements based on nothing, you pratt!"

"oh, I see. But how else can you make assumpshuns?"

The voices started fading away. Nami sat in the toilet. The words were playing through her head: "she's been through a lot, that's why she doesn't like people…" "stop making judgements…".

Nami was sure that those voices had been those of Strawhat Luffy and Pinnochio. So they were sitting with a girl who didn't like people.

"Could only be that "holier than thou princess" Tenshi no Tsuki." She muttered to the door. But if they could understand that bitch, that meant they could understand her, right. Hope fluttered in her chest like a caged bird being offered a key to the door.

No! she should trust anyone. Not yet, anyway. She'd have to keep an eye on those two. That meant keeping an eye on their friends too. Nami was sure she could do it. No she knew she could do it. What frightened her about the whole operation was how she'd feel afterwards, and how she'd keep her happiness from Arlo…

Thinking of Arlong put a smile on the girls face. She'd seen Zoro putting up the signs for the new club. Boxing and weaponary. If those guys signed up, maybe if she tried, she could get them to help her run away from Arlong. And if they died in the process, it didn't matter. They were the tools. The thought of really escaping from Arlong once and for all was so good, it made the taste of tangerines come into Nami's mouth. She nearly had the hundred thousand. Maybe, if that worked, she wouldn't need them. But hey, real friends were what she needed right now. She'd butter them up until it was time for her to deliver the last of the goods. And as backup, she'd use them, just like she did everyone. It was a plan she liked.

Perking up instantly, she stood up and left the bathroom. There was a carboot sale today, time to steal some goods and sell them on ebay for huge prices again.


	6. Chapter 6

**"Silence in the library at all times?"**

Tsuki was in the library. This was one of the only frees she didn't share with Eli, making it a grand total of two. They were always together, mainly because Eli did not understand the meaning of the words "leave me alone." Tsuki sighed. That little pest really didn't know when to leave things, people included, alone. Ever since Eli joined the school, right bang in the middle of last year, she'd always followed Tsuki; pestering her about her parents, asking nosey questions and generally annoying the shit out of the older girl. Technically, Tsuki was only a couple of months older than Eli, the the latter was so immature, you'd have thought they were years apart age wise.

Damn, why am I thinking about her in the only free in which I don't have to put up with her constant babble? Tsuki scolded herself. She looked down at the essay she was starting. It was some stupid English essay on Romeo and Juliet. She stared at the question: "Rome and Juliet could be seen as a typical comedy as opposed to a horrifying tragedy" discuss". What moron decided that Rome and Juliet could ever be seen as a comedy? It was a tragedy, end of story, just like… NO! Don't think about it! Tsuki yelled internally. If anyone knew about her tacit struggles with herself, they'd have thought she was mad, crazy and beserk all at the same time.

"How many times, idiot Strawhat kid! No cola in the library!"

"But Franky you just gave it to us!" complained a whiney voice that could only be Usopp's.

"no I didn't, what would happen to these books, cola is for outside the library!"

"Franky san, I'm glad to hear that you're prohibition on cola in the library is improving."

"Yes Robin san, as you can see, these ruffians have no time for rules, eh. But boys will be boys."

"How can you say that when, umpf…" Usopp's sentence was cut short by some sort of muffled thump. Tsuki turned around, suddenly interested in the conversation happening at the desks on the other side of the bookshelves. Hoho, so Robin was checking up on Franky, was she? This was a turn out for the books. Tsuki laughed at her little joke. Turn out for the books, in the library, gettit. Ok, I'll just stop trying.

"Yes that's certainly true, boys shall be boys. And men shall be boys too, am I right Franky san?" said Robin fondly. It sounded like she was repremanding him. Ok forget the "sounding like" part, she Was repremanding him.

"Yeh, I supposed so." Franky laughed nervously. "But I'll chuck 'em out now."

Tsuki peered around the shelf. Robin had her back to her, so her expression was allowed to live purely in Tsuki's imagination, but Franky's was in clear view.

The weirdo, as in Franky, had one hand on his hip, the other behind his head. Beads of sweat decorated his forehead like a kind of strange tiara, which was in full view due to his hairdo of way-too-gelled electric blue hair. Honestly he looked more like some sort of coastguard life saver as opposed to a librarian. He insisted on wearing nothing below his stomach line save a pair of y-front swim trunks, and the rest of himself he covered in a sort of Hawaian style shirt, unbottoned at all times. Apart from that and the permanent sunglasses he always wore, either on the bridge of his nose or on his forehead, he was completely naked. Ok, you can't be completely naked when you're privates are covered and you've got a shirt on, but still you know what I mean.

Robin turned, calling over her shoulder: "Don't forget why you're here Franky!"

Tsuki backed quickly behind the bookcase. If Robin caught her…

"And Tsuki-chan, please know that eavesdropping is a bad habit." Tsuki flinched, eye twitching. Honestly Robin had eyes everywhere. As she left the library, the atmosphere started to ease up.

"Sorry, Usopp. I didn't mean to be a git like that."

"s'all right Franky, just choose someone else next time. Didn't Robin say Tsuki was eavesdropping? Oi Tsuki, you there?"

Oh this was just great, fantastic, now instead of her time alone, Tsuki now had to share it with the two morons from yesterday's lunchtime. Ok, just pretend you're not here and they'll ignore you. Yeh right!

Usopp's nose peered around the bookshelf, preceding the boy himself. "There you are." He yelled pointing.

"Oh, that's great!" yelled his companion, the annoying Strawhat. "Come sit with us."

Tsuki wondered what to do now. Her mind was asking a simple question "Should I stay or should I go?", it was nearly singing. She looked into the boys face. The childish head bedecked in straw smiled. Tsuki's soul flinched. There was genuine warmth in that smile, warmth she had not felt for a long time. Not sinch her father. There was nothing she could do.

"Fine, I'll sit with you." She put on a hard face, making sure her thoughts were locked up in some dusty chest in the back of her head.

" so Franky… what was all that about?"

"All what about?"

"The stuff about "Why're you're here." The creepy shit." Usopp, ever the dramatic waved his hands in what may be considered a spooky, gypsy fortune teller like way.

"Huh, guess I have to tell you." Said the weirdo.

He gives in too easily, thought Tsuki.

"When I finished school, and I'm older than Robin, so I didn't go here, before you ask Luffy. Anyway, as soon as I left, I started my own brotherhood of ruffians. Not mafia, nowhere near the scale. We were around fifty, committing petty crime, joyriding, breaking up beat up cars, bounties."

"WOW, amazing. You caught criminals!" yelled Luffy.

"the really easy ones. Anyway, the law decided that it didn't like what I was up to, plus I got into a skirmish with them when I was at school. Some idiot policeman decided he was gonna persecute my foster dad cos he didn't like the fact that he made weapons for anyone who paid, so I kicked him up the ass."

Tsuki, Luffy and Usopp all burst out laughing. The idea of a teenage Franky kicking a policeman up the arse was priceless.

"yeh, I did do it, not making that up! Anyway, in prison I met Robin, and she helped me get outta there and now I've got a job at this super school!" Franky did a weird pose. It was a bit like the kind Zoro asked his pupils to do, lean your body to the side with one arm raised above your head. Only Franky stretched out both arms, making the tattoo on his arms, both stars, become one.

"and that's it? Robin bailed you out of jail and now you're here teaching together?"

"She bailed me out? Oh yeh she did!" Franky hastily tried to cover up his mistake. "sorry, it was so long ago that my mind jumbles up facts."

Usopp and Luffy nodded, but Tsuki saw through the façade. It was a talent she prided herself on, she could see through masks and lies. Franky was hiding something.

She was prevented from thinking about it further when Nami entered the library. That bitch, what's she doing here, she avoids the library, thought Tsuki.

This was true, Nami generally left the library to nerds, as she called the library goers. She entered and marched straight up to the three classmates and the librarian. She strode purposefully towards them.

"hi, I'm luffy." Said Luffy.

"Idiot! That's Nami, she'll kill you." Whispered Usopp.

"Oh so that's Nami!"

"Eejit, that's Nami, the bully that nearly destroyed Choppr." Whispered Usopp, giving Luffy a clout on the head.

"ah, sorry."

"Hi, I'm in your class."

"Sorry, I was probably asleep."

Nami nodded. "You're the narcolep right." She pulled up a chair and sat down beside Tsuki. "Marimo's been putting up signs for a weaponary club, you seen em?"

"Yeh."

"You gonna join?"

"I might, you?"

"Yeh."

"Then I'm not."

"Oi, Tsuki, you don't say that kinda thing out loud." Said Usopp.

"I don't care."

Nami laughed, but the annoyance that she was feeling was almost overflowing from the emotion cauldron right now.

"Never mind. I was thinking of taking up the quarterstaff. What bout you guys?"

"I was thinking a gun, like my dad." Said Usopp.

"Same here. I used to weild guns, and those big spiky medeival balls on chains. I'd have the gun in my left hand, my medieval weapon in my right and I'd yell "Weapons Left" or "Strong Right" depending on the weapon of the moment"

"Too cool Franky!" yelled Luffy, stars dancing in his eyes.

"thanks Luff, what bout you?"

"I'm a boxer through and through, I like to punch and kick stuff." Smiled the idiot.

"So you don't need a weapon!" yelled Usopp.

"Nope." Laughed Luffy. He still laughed when Usopp clouted him again.

"What bout you Tsuki?" asked Usopp, trying to calm himself down from the annoyance Luffy had stirred in him.

" I…I" Tsuki fidgeted, she'd never spoken to anyone about this. "I wanna learn how to use a nunchaku, like a proper ninja. I mean my dad had one, and I kept it, it'd be cool to use."

"Too cool!" said both Luffy and Usopp.

Nami smiled, "Great, I'll see you there. None of my friends wanna go, so I thought I'd get to know the people who did. I gotta go." The bell rang.

"Lunchtime!" yelled Luffy.

As they walked out of the room, Nami smiled. This was gonna be good. Her little army was getting together. Just to find some others. Eli and Chopper were trying martial arts. This might just work. Maybe Arlong would go down! And when he did, she'd be free!

_(Dear Reader_

_(Tenshi no Tsuki is not my character, much as I would like her to be, but a friends __"Friends-only-yaoi's Ana) and is copy written and I have her full permission in the use of character. Eli's my own and I've marked her forehead with a funny (c) too)_


	7. Chapter 7

**"So…What's a Girl like You Doing in a Place like This?"**

Tsuki sat outside Ace's office. It was the fifth time that year. She was pissed, for two reasons. One: why was she here again? Two: it wasn't her fault that everyone was annoying! Though, this time, there was a twinge of guilt. This time, she had hit Eli. Eli, her…NO! now's not the time to think about that bullshit that little snot went and told you!

The door opened, breaking the silence of the corridor and the yelling within the girl's head.

"Oh, it's you again." Said the familiar voice of the schools councellor. "You actually gonna talk to me today? Or am I still not worthy of her highnesses voice?"

Tsuki scowled. She almost growled. The idiot councellor annoyed her almost as much as her roommate! Taller than her, with his straggly black hair reaching his chin and the freckles that decorated his face, Portgas D Ace had a very different look to that of his younger brother, Luffy. Rather than wearing a bright red, sleeveless, button-up jacket type thing with a pair of ¾ legnth shorts and sandals, Ace wore no shirt, allowing his muscles to be self evident and the tattoos on his arms. He bore these to ensure that the guys didn't decide to take him lightly. Just because he was the school councellor and listened to loads of problems (except period trouble, that kind of thing, he just could not handle!).

"Won't you come right in, little princess?" said Ace politely. Tsuki's scowl deepened. She hated the nickname Ace had given her. It had a sting in the tail. She stalked into the room, head held high, the way she'd been taught, hiding all emotion from her face.

"Woh! Little princesse is pissed today." Tsuki shot the man a look.

"That's the look you always wear when you're pissed."

"And you would know, would you?" spat Tsuki. Ace just smiled. Why was he so infuriating!

Ace lifted his hand to adjust his orange "crocodile dundee" style hat on his head so that it allowed his eyes to reveal themselves from the shadow he'd hidden them in. not for the first time, Tsuki stared at the goggles that adorned the hat. They were really confusing. Depicted on the glass were a happy face and a sad face, one face on each eyepiece.

"Why do you do that?"

"What?"

"Stare at my sexy hat?"

"It's sexy?"

"Hell yeh!"

This dialogue did nothing to improve Tsuki's mood, but it had the desired effect of taking her mind off her current troubles.

"Have a seat, little princesse." Ace motioned to a chaise long at the other end of the room. Tsuki knew the drill: she'd sit down and Ace would ask her questions about how she was feeling, did she have a crush on a guy, the usual banal rubbish. She stormed over to the elongated chair and lay down, closing her eyes so that if the questions got boring she could simply fall asleep. She wouldn't even admit to herself that this was also a tactic she used when things started to get sticky, a trick she learnt from Zoro.

"So, how are you feeling today, little princesse?"

"Pissed."

"Why?"

"It's because of the headmistress."

"Robin? What's she done?" Ace sounded eager, happy for the answers.

"She…"

"Yes…. Keep going!"

"She forces me to go to these stupid sessions with the school councellor who just randomly falls asleep whenever I try and say anything."

Just like the similar taste in weird hats, the D brothers, as they were sometimes called, were both complete narcoleps. It was the main reason they were both kept away from the swim team, couldn't have them both falling asleep and drowning.

Ace chuckled. " You win, that makes it a ten to one score to Tsuki in the snubbing match."

"Hey, doesn't that make it ten to two?"

"How?"

"That was a snub just then."

Tsuki then realised what she'd said and clamped her mouth shut. Why was she suddenly acting like a kid? She bit her lip.

"I think now would be the right time to tell you." Ace barely whispered the words, yet they rang in Tsuki's ears like bongos. She heard him push away his chair. She sat bolt upright, eyes wide open. She couldn't help it, she stared at his muscles, his cute face, his amazing smile, the intense eyes… He walked towards her, kneeling down beside her. Their eyes were on a level. Tsuki swallowed, trying to shift the huge lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat.

Ace lifted his arm, touching her cheek and fondling with her hair. Realising what was going on, a little too late, Tsuki pushed the arm away. Ace's smile widened. He leaned closer towards her face. Tsuki couldn't move, this wasn't happening! His lips found hers, locking themselves into place.

Tsuki's reaction was instinctive. She clutched his face, drawing herself towards him, throwing away the crocodile dundee hat and ruffling his hair. She was lost in the moment, completely blown away by the feelings she'd told herself she didn't have. In the end it was Ace who broke the moment, a beam on his lips.

"I knew it." He said, sounding triumphant.

"Humph, I hope you're bloody satisfied!"

"Oh yeh I am!"

"Humph!"

"I've been loving you a long time."

"Yeh yeh."

"Down all the months, down all the days!"

"Now you're singing at me. Since when did "Rainy Night in Soho" say months? Surely he said "Down all the years down all the days."

"Awww, shit. I was hoping to be thoroughly romantic. I never knew you were a Pogues fan."

"I'm not. Eli is, I have to put up with her rubbish music all the bloody time!"

"I'm sure. Speaking of Tziganu Eli…"

Tsuki stiffened in her seat.

"That's why you were sent here wasn't it? You hit her?"

"Yeh. So?"

"What do you mean yeh so? She's you're mate, and you hit her after spending six months in the same room."

How could she tell him the truth? How could she tell him that terrible past?

It had happened the day her home had been burnt to the ground by that mafia group. Her dad, mayor of the town, had been killed, along with everyone else. She had only been fifteen years old.

The flames curled around the houses, cracking beams and belching woodsmoke into the air. The screams of everyone Tsuki had ever known wrent the air with their shrieks. People ran out of their houses, flames wrapping them, making them indecipherable and anonymous. Tears fell down the girls cheeks as she ran blindly through the streets and alleys searching for her father, her brother, her fiance. In her blind panic, she managed to avoid looking directly at the smoldering bodies crumpled around her in agony. She arrived at the town hall, running up the marble steps, turning the doorknob to the inferno. There she saw it, the fat man holding a gun, pointing it at the mayor, her father. As the shots of the bullet rang across the gleaming hall, Tsuki's father seemed to look at her, a message in his eyes. She had tried to run towards him, but the inferno would not allow her passage. Turning her eyes one last time on what she sometimes felt of as her only parent, she ran out of the building, looking over her shoulder as she did so. She saw the man and what appeared to be his cronies run out of the town hall, howling to the night, dragging the limp figure of a boy with them. Jiko! They had taken her brother with them, the bastards! She started out of the hiding place she had found, behind the fountain, the water flowing the colour of rust. This way she would be the sole survivor, as her father had asked her in his final gaze. She sat on the edge of the fountain and bawled, sobbing her heart out. She cried for her mother who had died when she was eight from an incurable illness Tsuki had been sure was poison. She cried for her father, shot through the chest. She cried for Naraku, the boy she had been destined to marry since her childhood because of some stupid family tradition. She cried for Jiko, taken away by the mafia for some kind of ransom. She cried for the villagers who had always been there, no matter what happened. She cried for her town, the place she had been born and bred, where she had laughed and cried, played and hurt herself, loved and lost. She didn't stop crying until the fire was reduced to nothing but glowing embers. The police came and found her sitting there sobbing. Medics were summoned, wrapping her in blankets, forcing tea down her throat; prodding, poking and probing for any injuries. Their only joy that came from this search were a few scratches and slight burns. She refused to speak for a week afterwards.

Two weeks after the great fire, she'd been sent to her next-of-kin, an uncle of sorts. His name was Akihide, he had been really close to her father until fairly recently, so Tsuki knew him rather well. She didn't enjoy her stay. Lets just say that when your older cousin almost rapes you, the younger ones not even able to understand why you're even there and an uncle who creeps you out and almost orders you to marry the guy that nearly raped you did not make for a desirable few days. And to make matters worse, there was the little matter of the evil uncle. Tsuki overheard Akihide one day on the phone. Ok, doesn't sound that bad, right. He was on the phone to Black Beard, arguing over the price of the destruction of the town where Tsuki came from. As he hung up, he turned to find the girl standing behind him, looking as though a large gold brick had just slammed itself into her face.

There are several ways of reacting after getting caught out on the phone. One: pretend nothing's wrong. Two: yell at the person who overheard you that it's wrong to listen in on others conversations and push them out of the doorway. Three: change the subject to make it look like nothing's wrong. It may or may not surprise you that Akihide chose none of the options listed above. He sat down across the desk from his desk and leered at her.

"Yes, I killed your father, and that whole wretched town. And do you know why? Because there is oil below that land. I would become a rich man, but your father and his sentimentality and his whole "That land is precious homes" bullshit were in my way! So I killed the blighter!"

Well you can imagine Tsuki's reaction. Well actually you cant. The girl wrapped herself in hate. She ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her. That night she took the nunchaku her father had partially taught her to use. She ran away from the mansion that he had lived in. He didn't mind, who would believe the word of a fifteen year old compared to that of a fifty year old who was campaigning for the election?

Tsuki had run to social services and ordered herself into a bording school. She explained that she did not like the house and that everyone ignored her. She knew that if she told the truth, she'd be in direct fire from the police and the story would be ridiculed by her uncle. Yet she would have her revenge! That she had guaranteed herself the privilege of finishing him off with her own hands.

"So, what did Eli do that was so bad?" asked Ace, cutting off the flashback.

"she…nothing." Tsuki realised that if she said exactly what Eli had done, then she'd have to talk about her own past, and she wasn't prepared to do that.

"Agh, I give up with you, Tsuki!" sighed Ace, exasperated. "you can go. But don't forget, you're my girl now, right?"

"Did I ever agree?"

Ace winked "With your reaction, babe, with the reaction."

"Tsuki? Oi Tsuki" Eli waved a hand in Tsuki's face, waking her out of the revery of how Ace had asked her out.

"Wha…What?"

"You completely spaced out on me. I was asking you about the maths homework for tomorrow."

"Do it yourself, you're better at it than me."

"Yeh, but you get things different to me, and I don't get this part."

"forget it for now, sleep on it, we'll do it in the free tomorrow."

"Ok, but don't forget."

"Remind me then!"

"Kay."

Tsuki slumped out on her bed. She turned over on her side to look at Eli. The girl who had called her family.


	8. Chapter 8

**Pinnochio and the Wolf**

"Luffy, stop punching me!" yelled Usopp, after playing the shoulder punch game with Luffy, his arm was starting to feel numb. How could the idiot next to him continue playing for hours straight.

"Awww, Usopp you're no fun! I'll play with Ace, we can go for ages!"

"Tell me about it!" Usopp rolled his eyes. Luffy was such a kid. It was a miracle he even managed to make it into the last year of school.

"Woho! There she is!"

Luffy bounded towards the table. The girl with the dagger eyes was there again! Calm down Usopp, Luffy's with you, nothing can hurt you! Usopp looked at his mate. Great! He was trying to talk to her, good luck with that! Trembling usopp sat down beside his shield, I mean friend.

"so how come you're in this school?" Luffy was asking. "what subjects do you take? Did you know Ace is my older brother? Is Eli nice? You guys are too funny!"

In answer to each of the questions Luffy bombarded her with, Tsuki just shot him hard, cold looks and finally turning her head away with a snort of derision. What was this guys problem? Did he have a death wish or something? Hang on, did he just say Ace was his older brother?

Tsuki suddenly turned her head towards Luffy, studying his face for the smile she knew so well, the small one that showed an inbuilt knowledge of all the thoughts that passed through your head. It's not that she didn't know that they were brothers, but they were polar opposites. Aside the fixation with stupid hats, Ace was not too tall for his age, muscular, (ok, very muscular, ok ok extremely muscular, happy? Fine, muscular just not as muscular as the green haired gym teacher. I'm not going into further details!) with cute freckles and long pitch black hair and eyes. He was incredibly polite, never forcing himself on his girlfriend unless her consent was absolute, always apologizing to teachers for his brothers idiocy and narcolepsy and forever thanking Usopp for taking good care of the boy in the straw hat.

Luffy, on the contrary, was immature, selfish and…totally cute. His huge, cheesy grin made a girl want to hug him, it was so cute. And the way he laughed was enough to make even Tsuki-of-the-Cold-Shoulder smile (or pull a grimace in an attempt at concealing a smile). To cap it off, Luffy was long and lanky, gangly limbs hanging loose at his side, almost as if they would stretch if they had the chance, if it were even possible. If it were possible for characters from books to come to life, then Luffy would be a stupider Ron Wealsey, with black hair of course and no freckles, Chopper would be something out of Bambi and Yagami Light would be Edward Cullen. Ace wouldn't need a character, he was perfect enough.

Tsuki hook her head, trying, and failing, to stop thinking about Luffy. Now was so not the time to start thinking of Ace's younger brother as cute! God what did that make her look like? A Nami whore who spent all her time with every guy possible? Thankfully her thoughts were interrupted by Eli joining them, complaining about Zoro.

"He made me run extra again!" she whined.

"Why? Did that bitch Nami mess you up again?" asked Tsuki, glad of the distraction.

"Nope! Marimo got it into his head that the fact that I can't do a cartwheel "properly", meaning at all, no matter how hard I try, is a sign of incompetence, and therefore I had to clean the gym."

"ha, sucks to be you." Said Tsuki, unfeelingly.

"You're so lucky! He's your mentor and you're fantastic at gym! I can't even do a chinup!"

"Haha! You're so funny, gym's the easiest thing ever."

"Don't worry, Luffy's just saying that, Tziganu. I'm no good either, and neithers Chopper. These two are just unhuman!" teased Usopp, wagging a tongue at Luffy. The latter just laughed, finding it amusing. Just like everything else that happened in his life. Eli joined in, and Tsuki desperately wanted to, but she wouldn't.

"Call me Eli, will you? I don't like being called Tziganu by classmates."

"ok, I'm Luffy. Nice to meetcha!"

"Oi, idiot, we met them yesterday." Said Usopp clouting him round the head. "I'm Usopp by the way."

"Oh, I thought your name was Pinnocchio!"

Usopp's nose nearly touched the table he was so depressed by that remark.

"Ah, sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to be mean!"

"Haha, Usopp looks funny!"

Eli turned her head around looking for a change of subject. "So… What are you doing in the Merry Sunny School?"

Usopp looked up. Had he really been asked that question?

"Sorry. Ugh today's so shit! I keep coming up with random sentences! I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me. honestly I told Marimo to dye his hair when he gave me hell about that cartwheel business."

"You Didn't!" guffawed Tsuki.

"I did, and he was even more pissed."

"Talk about talent!"

"Tell me about it!"

Usopp scratched his nose, pondering whether or not to answer the question. "What are you doing in the Merry Sunny School?" kept echoing in his mind. It was a good question. What WAS he doing here? His dad had joined the white mafia, or was it red? Usopp couldn't tell anymore, but the leader had had a ruby red mane. His mother died of an illness nine years later. Usopp had only been ten. Heartbreak, that's what the villagers had said was the problem. So Usopp had taken it upon himself, before her death, to run around screaming that his father had returned. It was designed to cheer her up. She still died, he reminded himself. Even after her death, you'd run up and down the street screaming that dad came home, didn't you. He scolded himself. Usopp glanced over to his right. Further down the cantine, sitting with a bunch of girls, sat Kaya. Usopp blushed. She was the girl of his dreams. A pretty blonde with skin the colour of milk, he had grown up under the shadow of her mansion. Her father had been the land owner, and Usopp's family, indeed the whole village, had been his tennant farmers. Apparently the village he'd come from still lived in the medieval age, having kept up the tradition of Land owners and tennants. What were they both doing here? Well, the butler had completely ruined the village, killed everyone, burned it all to the ground, you know the kinda normal things butlers do! Butler's who are mentally deranged that is. So he'd had no choice but to be here. With her.

"Haha! Usopp's staring at Kaya again!"

"Shut up Luffy! I was not!"

"Who's kaya?"

"That blonde over there. She's in our class Eli!"

"Sorry Tsuki! I forgot."

"She's Vivi's best friend isnt she?" asked Tsuki, looking disdainfully over at the girl laughing with Kaya, a girl with pale blue hair and a kind face. Usopp nodded.

" Vivi's nice."

"I spose, if by nice you mean Nami's right hand girl."

Vivi was not a bully as such. She was just one of those people who live by the "if you can't beat them, join them rule" and it drove black sheep like Tsuki and Eli round the twist. If you ever caught her alone, she was the nicest person alive, seriously, she'd listen to you're problems, advise you and give you the support of a best friend. Catch her hanging around Nami, you'd get apologetic grimaces, which meant nothing, and a round of insults. If Kaya was with them, she'd say nothing, just bow her head and keep to herself.

"So…" said Usopp trying to get away from the hairy topic of the three girls. "It's the opening of the weapons club tonight. Eli you going?"

"Yep, I'm trying out martial arts."

"You'd suck, you're too weak."

"Zoro's gotten into your head Tsuki!"

"it's the truth."

Eli gave up, there was just no point in arguing.

"Why are you here Eli?"

Eli looked up and gazed into Usopp's eyes. He'd done the same as she had. That is, he'd tried to shift the tension with a random question.

"I'm an orphan, why else."

"But why are you an orphan?"

"Because…because…" Eli was straining to get the words out around the lump in her throat.

"Because I killed my father."

A stunned hush fell over the table. Chopper, who had joined unnoticed, dropped his fork with a clatter, spilling the fish stew onto his lap. He didn't even notice the heat.

Eli could feel eyes on her, Tsuki's saying "I told you to never reveal anything about yourself you twat." Luffy's saying "I don't gettit" and Choppers and Usopp's muttering unintelligible things in fear. She felt the familiar sensation of burning in her cheeks.

"You're gonna have to follow it up now." Said Tsuki calmly. She already knew of course.

Usopp started muttering a stream of words that made no sense whatsoever. Eli took a deep breath and started speaking very very fast.

"My mother died giving birth to me in a small town quite far from here. her brother Akihide, forced her to die as soon as she gave birth, leaving me on a doorstep to be cared for. However, the people who lived there didn't want me and so left me in the forest by the town…" she looked up at her captivated audience. Usopp was crossing himself, Chopper looked downright freaked, Luffy was laughing and Tsuki looked bored. "Ever heard the story of Romulus and Remus?" the three boys answered at the same time "Don't take ancient history." Eli rolled her eyes, this was going to get hairy.

"Romulus and Remus were the twins who founded Rome, and it is said that they were raised by a shewolf." Heads began to nod. "I was too." The heads froze. Suddenly raucous laughter pealed from their lips.

"nice one, you almost had me there."

"great joker arent you?"

"you're funny. I don't gettit."

"you never do Luffy!"

Eli's blush deepened. "but I did."

The laughter stopped. "you're not serious." Said Usopp, crossing himself again.

"I'm afraid I am. And it's then that I killed my father. He attacked the pack, and I delivered the final blow. I tore out his throat."

Usopp paled, turning as white as a sheet. He looked like he'd just stepped out of one of Perona sans gothic meetings. Yes, even the Merry Sunny School had it's goths and emos. Unfortunately.

"I was then taken in by the gypsies." More laughter. Eli blushed and just shut up.

"What's this, an english book? Did you read some amazing novel and decide to copy the past?"

Eli was turning a deeper shade of red. Nami's voice appearing out of nowhere like that was enough to give her the heeby jeebies.

"What are you doing here, whore?" Tsuki's voice was menacing and she had jumped to her feet the moment the red haired girls voice had floated over the table.

"My, my. Is that how you treat people, little princess?"

Tsuki bristled, anger making electric charges crackle around her hair (no not really, but it sounds dramatic).

"What's with this farfetched tale anyway?"

"I was asked why I was an orphan…. And…"

"And you just decided to bullshit. Don't make me laugh." Nami sat down at the end of the table, crossing her legs on top of it.

"Hey that's my lunch…"

"Shut up crybaby Choppy."

Chopper did shut up, Nami's black leather boots in his stew.

"So, ready to kick ass in the weaponry club tonight boys?" smiled the incarnation of evil.

"I'm gonna kick their asses." Yelled the boy in the straw hat, grinning.

"I bet you are."

The bell rang signalling the end of lunch. "Gotta fly, guys, see you tonight." Called the red head over her shoulder.

"We gotta go too. Music." Said Usopp, dragging Luffy by the arm.

"I gotta go see Doctorine." Said Chopper hurrying away.

Eli hung her head, ashamed that she'd managed to make even more of a fool of herself. She felt the lump in her throat bulge and the red hotness of tears in her eyelids. She felt Tsuki grab her shoulder.

"I know it's true. You have me, and that's all you need to have." The girls face was grim, but a spark of understanding shone in her eyes. Eli smiled weakly, glad that Tsuki was her cousin.


	9. Chapter 9

**Gym Hall 6**

The door looked imposing. Don't feel frightened, it's just a door. But I shouldn't be here. Tsuki said I'd suck. How does she know? I dunno, but… Just open the door, it's not as if Marimo can kill you. That's a lie! True, but just open it!

Eli thrust the door open, looking into the brightly lit hall. Damn you voice inside my head! I'm early!

Eli's voice inside her head was meerly how she referred to that extra voice that gave her a pep talk everytime she needed one.

She entered the gym hall looking around her in anguish, waiting for someone to arrive. She paced around nervously, looking at her watch, it was ten passed five, school had finished just over an hour ago. Not wanting to be caught pacing, Eli brought out one of the giant squishy mats, and lay down on it. If anyone else were to enter, sure as eggs they'd jump on it, it's just what everyone did.

"LAZY IDIOT, TZIGANU!" yelled an all too familiar voice. Eli rolled her eyes. It was one of those relationships where the person with authority starts by scaring the hell out of you, then as time passes, beings to seriously piss you off. Honeslty, Zoro's yells were being fired in her direction so often nowadays, she was sick of them. Next thing you knew, she'd be the one beating him up. Just keep quiet.

"GET OFF THAT MAT!" fists balled, Eli stood up and put it away, before she got another mouthful.

"Oooooooooh, Eli chan got yelled at. Poor girl." Said another familiar voice, well recognised and badly received. Nami's sarcasm was severely unwelcome. Ignore her, ignore her.

People suddenly started to mill around, Eli heading towards the group she'd sat with at lunch. Something was odd about Tsuki, she could sense it. Then she realised what it was. Though she wasn't looking at the people she was standing next to, Tsuki wasn't moving away either. Normally, she'd have gone to a more secluded area of the gym hall. Odd, but then maybe Tsuki was tired of being on her own. That was good. Maybe they'd all become good friends then…. Then Nami walked over to join the group. Perfect, thought Eli, rolling her eyes. Still, that doesn't mean you have to keep away too.

"Hi guys!" she smiled enthusiatically running to join them.

"Hey Eli." Smiled Luffy, waving, even though Eli had already seen them.

"What's up?"

"We're waiting for this thing to start, it's taking too long." Tsuki was getting impatient.

As she finished, Zoro strode to the far end of the room, accompanied by Robin, and a host of teachers and staff.

"Right, you bunch of maggots! Listen up!" yelled Zoro. Robin shot him a reproachful look.

"If I may, Zoro san, I'll take over the information giving." She said.

"Do what you like." Said Zoro, purposefully looking the other way. He looked seriously miffed.

"Thank you, Zoro san." Smiled Robin. "Welcome, dear pupils." The contrast between the two was amazing, night and day. "I would like to announce this club open for trial. That means that we are going to try this out and if it works, it shall be continued. That means that I do not want to see the infermary packed full to bursting with wounded students and I also do not want to see students attacking each other in the corridors. Is that understood?"

"Yes Nico san!" chimed a bunch of voice obediently.

"Very well. Then I now proclaim this, the first meeting of the defense and weaponary club, open. Enjoy yourselves."

Robin left with a sweeping of her dark purple kimono she wore for ceremonial occasions, such as the opening of a new student club.

Zoro stepped forward. "Right, you idiots, all who are taking up martial arts go with bakacook." Sanji waved his hand enthusiastically at some random girls. "those expecting to study boxing, Ace is you're man." He said nodding at Ace in acknowledgement. He was gazing at Tsuki, hands in his pockets, who smiled and turned her head. "for those with long range weaponary, you're with the weirdo in sunglasses and speedos." He jerked his thumb at Franky, who did his weird pose. "and those who are studying close range weaponary, Brook and I will take half each, Brook taking sword fighters and fencers, and I'm taking any other type of weaponary. Understood, weaklings?" a hushed nod. "Good, now go!"

All the students huddled around their respective tutor. Luffy walked up to his older brother.

"I'm gonna beat you Ace!"

"Bring it on little bro. They don't call me Fire Fist Ace for nothing." boasted the elder brother, showing off the boxing title he had won in college.

"Hihihi! I'm still gonna beat you!" chuckled Luffy.

Tsuki walked of towards Zoro, as did Nami. Chopper decided to follow Luffy, his reason being that the way he wanted to fight was going to be unique to him, and therefore he should be able to make it up as he went along, with a little help from Ace. Usopp ran towards Franky. Eli looked around her. She was going to be alone in a group of martial artists. None of her friends were with her. She saw Vivi clutching a strange yoyo type thing and heading towards Zoro, saying that Kaya said that it was against her principles as a doctor to fight. This comment made Nami roll her eyes. "That girl really is good for nothing. but I suppose a doctor's always handy to have."

Tsuki ground her teeth. This was perfect, she'd kill her. She'd kill her for what she did at lunch. She silently pleaded that Zoro would put them together when they'd start fighting, as they were bound to, Zoro was not a teacher to simply show moves and then not enjoy a full fight. If she knew him, and remember he was her mentor, then he'd sit there getting every one to fight each other in a tornament while drinking.

"There are several gym halls, and they're all going to be used. Follow you're teacher and you wont get lost." Now Tsuki understood the real meaning behind splitting the close range weaponary group. Zoro's sense of direction, or lack of, was legendary. Stories spread around the school that the green haired gym teacher had been seen scratching his head on top of the school gate asking himself where the entrance hall was. Hopefully that's just a myth, Tsuki thought, though, knowing him, it probably has some truth in it. At least Brook san wont get lost.

Eli walked over to Sanji. She was feeling rather nervous as she'd been left on her own.

"Right, gang. Follow me!" yelled Sanji, pleased at the number of girls following him. You could tell by the smug grin on his face and a certain heart shape in his eyes.

They walked out of the gym hall, taking the door that lead to the others. An explanation of the gym hall system at the school. Each gym was positioned side by side with a door at each end. How Marimo could get lost was a mystery to Eli. All in all, there were roughly seven gym halls and the procession of students headed towards the sixth. Gym hall six was where Zoro taught gymnastics. Don't be fooled by his bulk, that guy could do handstands, headstands and cartwheels, which was all he taught under the title of gymnastics; none of this "contortionist rubbish" as he called it.

"Grab a mat! And find a space." Yelled Sanji, sounding fairly professional. There was a huge bustling surge around the mat stash. Once everyone had settled down, Sanji walked in to a space he had left empty for the very purpose of staging his introduction.

"Welcome to Martial Arts Corner." He beamed at everyone. Sorry, every woman. He made the subject sound like a cosy teaparty. Suddenly Eli realised what had been troubling her. How was a flirty cook going to teach martial arts? Surely he wouldn't be teaching them ninja arts, like shuriken and stuff, with meat cleavers would he?

"A cook's most prized possessions are his knifes and cooking utensils."Sanji said, calmly, his eyes closed as though he were explaining something he had fond memories of. "They will never come into a battle, by that you know the mark of the true chef." Well that explained one part. No meat cleaver throwing knives. "as such, all a cook needs to use to cook are his arms." That made sense, or at least it sounded as if it made sense. OK, fine, he sounded as if he knew what he was talking about, and that gave the impression it made sense. "A cook's legs, however, will never be as essential. Therefore, my father and I learnt to defend ourselves and our restaurant in the backstreets using our legs. I can kick an elephant into submission." He winked at really cute girl with a decent sized chest in the front row. Eli, who was sitting a few rows behind, saw her bow her head, whether out of embarassement or pleasure, she would never know.

"so I can teach you a limited amount of how to defend yourselves using your fists. But first I want to see how you fight. It is far better to be able to choose your martial art according to how you fight as of now, as opposed to simply starting. Of course the ladies who don't fight are exempt from doing so." He bowed graciously to the women. "I would tell you to apply for Judo or Aikido, defending arts."

There was a tentative knocking at the door, and Chopper's pink hat preceded him into the room. "Sorry," he mumbled, "I joined the boxing team, but realised it was not the place for me, can I join you?"

Sanji scowled, the kid had taken away his thunder. "Get a mat and join the rest, damned brat." Chopper did as he was told, sliding in beside Eli. "You missed nothing. this guy just explained he used a means of kicking to create his own form of martial art." Chopper nodded gratefully.

"Right, people. Everyone move their mats into the center to create a huge, padded flooring, and I'll select two people to fight each other. If you've never fought anyone before, say so."

Everyone did as they were told. Sanji called different people up to fight. He eventually called Chopper to fight another guy. This boy was a a scrawny kid with jet black hair and eyes that were rimmed black, though he was not wearing eyeliner. Eli remembered that he was called Ryuuzaki, or something like that, and that he was one of the schools top pupils.

Chopper approached his opponant nervously, teeth clenched in a grimace and a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. Ryuuzaki merely slouched onto the giant mattress, hands thrust deep into his pockets, a look of boredom adorning his pale face.

"Ready? Fight!" declared Sanji.

Chopper stood stock still and Ryuuzaki crouched, pulling his hands from his pockets, ready to leap into action. They observed each other for a few seconds, then Chopper lifted his hands. Ryuuzaki fell to the floor, kicking his feet into the air and kicking the small boy in the stomach. Chopper flew into the air, Ryuuzaki having hit him from below, a stunned look in his eyes. He landed sprawled on his back. Sanji opened his mouth to declare this match over, when Chopper stood up. He looked at his opponant, analysing him with a doctor's eyes. Chopper lifted his arms again, and Ryuuzaki was about to sweep his legs from under him. Unfortunately for Ryuuzaki, Chopper had anticipated something along this line and caught the leg. He placed one foot on top of the other boys calf. Ryuuzaki's eyes widened. Chopper placed both hands together so that they joined at the wrist. Bringing his arms back, like a rower with a wrist problem, he then slammed both hands into Ryuuzaki's stomach. The boy curled up on the floor, shooting Chopper a venomous glance.

"Fantastic, simply fantastic!" yelled Sanji. "Some decent fighters in this group after all. You each landed a hit, therefore it's a tie. Right I want you and you to go next." He pointed at another couple.

Once all the boys had taken their turn in fighting each other, Sanji then turned to the girls. "Any fighters in this group of beautiful Amazons?" he asked his eyes turning into hearts. Taking a deep breath, Eli stepped foreward. She looked around, not one of the other girls had volunteered.

"Ok." Said Sanji, hearts in his eyes immediately vanishing. "anyone want to fight her? If boys do, then no one will think any the worse of you. Right, uh…. What's your name."

"Tziganu Eli, and no I wont think the worse of them."

"who's up for it then?"

The boys fidgeted, not wanting to break the sacred rule of "Not hitting girls".

"Fine I'll just choose someone…"

"I'll do it." Yelled a boy from the other end of the room. He stood foreward. He was tall and thin, bright blond hair messed up in a natural hairstyle, bright eyes dancing in his head. He turned and gave Eli a wave. She smiled, grateful that she'd be given a fight.

"Thank you,…."

"Hamlet James."

"James kun." Sanji nodded in appreciation.

Eli took to the floor, preparing herself mentally as she did so. She had no wish to hurt James, but this was the only way she knew to fight. She took up her position opposite her opponant and got down on all fours. Raucous laughter came her way as she did so, but now was not the time to get embarrassed about something stupid as narrowminded humans, she thought to herself. She allowed her joints to loosen into a form they were used to. She looked up and James, who was looking at her as if he wasn't sure whether to laugh or be worried for her health.

Forget this, she scolded herself, fight him.

Without a moments loss, she leapt at James, landing a kick on his shoulder which forced her further into the air, and him into a crouching position. Before he could so much as move his back into a better position, she landed on his shoulder blades, making his knees buckle and making him fall face first onto the mats. Eli pinned all of his limbs to the mat, bending her head towards his neck, mouth open ready to bite.

"Enough!" yelled Sanji, a worried look in his eyes. "Enough! Thank you everyone, I have assessed your abilities and have come to the conclusion that I need to look up a number of martial arts and sort out groups. Tziganu, I'd like you to stay behind, please."

Eli gulped, releasing her prey, who got up and looked at her in alarm before running off after his friends. Shame, just when you meet a nice enough guy, you go and make dinner of him, she reproached herself. I was supposed to fight him, and making him dinner's the only way I can do that, she countered.

Chopper walked over to her. "What you told us at lunch was true, wasn't it." It wasn't a question, but an acknowledgement. Eli nodded. "I recognised the bestial pose, and the way you were about to tear his throat."

Eli shifted uncomfortably, not looking directly at Chopper.

"But your hunting style's is much different, normally you'd have bitten his shoulder, brought him down and then eaten him no?"

"without a pack?"

"Good point."

"May I butt into this cosy little conversation." Said Sanji, leaning over the two of them. They'd been conversing in whispers, and so Sanji's loud voice caused them to jump.

"You've got some explaining to do, Tziganu." Said Sanji, pointing an accusing finger at Eli. She looked down.

"I am not allowed to tell anyone, so you have to ask Robin."

"She's your mentor?" Eli nodded. "Then I'll tell her in detail." Said Sanji, his eyes suddenly turning into hearts at the prospect of talking to the beautiful headmistress.

"Can we go?"

"go, go. I'm going to go talk to Robin chan! I mean, hmmhmm, Nico san."

Eli and Chopper ran from gym hall six and said good night as they both headed into the dormitories: Chopper heading towards a tower with the head of a ram on a stick above the door, with an old wooden sign saying "The Merry Men" and Eli heading to another tower, this one adorned with the head of a teddy bear like thing surrounded in red, yellow and orange triangles with an old wooden sign saying "The Sunny Maidens". She hoped Tsuki was in their room.

Robin paced around her office, worried. This was the fifth letter she was getting this month. This spelt trouble. But what could they do? It wasn't as if she was still a … No don't even think that. You're not, look at all these happy faced children. You're a good person. She pulled back a curtain, looking out into the grey night. Suddenly a lightning bolt split the sky. It would rain fairly soon then.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Just a second." Called Robin, straining to keep the fear and anxiety from her voice. She snatched up the letters on her desk and shoved them into a desk drawer. She sat down in her black leather swivel chair. "Come in"

Zoro entered the office, looking thouroughly disgruntled.

"Oh Zoro san, it's you. How did the club go?"

"Well enough, but all the close range weaponary people did was introduce themselves, as did the longranged."

"and the boxing and martial arts guys?"

"Ace got straight to business, having a match with his younger brother, and explaining how it was done."

"And Sanji?"

"He pitted the students against each other, in order to decide which martial art they were best suited to, and their strengths in certain fields."

"sounds very good."

"Tziganu was one of them."

"Eli chan?"

Zoro nodded. Robin suddenly saw why Zoro had come to her, understood why his eyes were angry.

"She didn't?"

"She did."

"Who?"

"Hamlet James."

Robin nodded. She knew that Eli was bestial when she had to protect herself.

"I'll talk to her. I'm surprised Sanji kun didn't come himself."

"He wanted to."

"You stopped him?" Zoro nodded.

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because?"

"Because I didn't like the idea of you alone with that pervert."

"Oh?" Robin smiled, amused by Zoro's sudden protectiveness. "Thank you. That was very thoughtful."

"Yeh, yeh, whatever." Grumbled Zoro, realising, a little too late, what it was that he'd just said. "I'm going to bed."

Robin nodded. "Good night, Zoro san." As Zoro left, Robin fell back to worrying about those letters. This was not going to end well, and a lot of people would be out of a job.

"I wish I'd killed him." Whispered Robin.

(Dear Readers,

As you may have noticed since the previous chapters that two characters from the Death Note series have been added in. I would like to explain that were I to keep this story strictly to One Piece, then there would be too many teachers and not enough pupils, and therefore it has become necessary to add in some characters from other series. I would like to add a disclaimer: "I do not own Deathnote, nor any other series" but I'm just populating my imaginary school with characters I have liked in animes and mangas. Hamlet James is another OC, Hamlet being his surname. Yes I did just read the play. He is copywritten, in case of further use.

I would also request that if you have enjoyed or hated this fan fiction story, would you please leave me a hint or review, because I'd like to make this story even better if I can. Thanks Scott-Wilson Eli chan)


	10. Chapter 10

The Team Forms.

The next dat, Eli sat at the lunch table, early for once. She stirred the pasta she'd ordered, deep in concentration. Today's gym ordeal had been oddly, Eli searched for the right word. The only one in her mind right now was… "pleasant". Eli shook her head. There was no way a gym lesson with the marimo could possibly have been pleasant, she must be imagining it. But, Marimo hadnt shouted at her today. He must be sick. Yes, that has to be the answer. That's why he had been staring off into space a lot of the time. He had been staring into space, right? Or had he actually been staring at her, with her look of pensiveness. Since when did Roronoa Zoro start thinking? To quote Alice in Wonderland "curiouser and curiouser".

Tsuki sat down opposite her philosopher friend. She asked a question that fell on deaf ears. She repeated. Finally, getting pissed off in a way unique to her, she thumped the table right in front of Eli's nose. The girl jerked upright from her hunched, brooding position. Her eyes widened, and her raised shoulders only dropped when she saw the person who'd frightened her.

"Jesus, El! Anyone would think you were a frightened puppy!" Tsuki sometimes called Eli El, mostly when she was pissed off. The girl in question drooped her shoulders, as though she was apologising tacitly. Tsuki sighed and changed the subject. "what's so important that you cant reply when you're asked the question "what're you doing here so early?" eh?"

"Sorry, just Zoro let me out early."

Tsuki looked like she was slapped in the face. Her mouth dropped forming an egg shape, her eyes widened. Suddenly she reverted, using the heel of her hand to tap the side of her head.

"I must be suffering from some stupid illness or something. I thought you just said the Marimo, the meanest teacher in the school, and my mentor, unfortunatley, just let you out of gym…early." Eli nodded, and Tsuki couldn't fail to understand this. And she was not about to play dumb and pretend she forgot the glasses that didn't exist. Eli and Tsuki had a kind of link, they knew instinctively when the other was lying and sometimes could even discern thoughts from gestures and expressions to an uncanny precision. This made sense to them though. They were, after all cousins.

"I don't believe it. Is he sick?" Eli told her about Zoro's staring and pensiveness, and they both came to the conclusion that Zoro was either sick, or just couldn't cope after last nights club meeting. Since the second wasn't very likely, they fell to trying to come up with a situation that was.

Their contemplation was interrupted by the now expected arrival of the three clowns: Luffy, Usopp and Chopper. Chopper shot Eli a glance, and hurriedly looked away before anyone could notice. However, Tsuki, ever the obsevant girl she was, noticed that neither made eye contact.

"What's up with you two?"

"Nothing." Came a chorus of two voices. As most people now, when two people say nothing in harmony, then something they don't want others to know. And as everyone knows, what people want to keep quiet often ends up being the most interesting thing happening in any school. Tsuki instantly picked up on it.

"what's up between you two?" a thought struck her. "Eli," the girl looked at her. "I didn't know you went out with younger men." But her look said "I didn't know you were desperate". Chopper was cute, just not the kind of guy you'd expect to go out with. Unless you were desperate, but it wasn't his fault. He was just one of those guys.

"NO!" yelled Eli and Chopper simulateously.

Tsuki raised one eyebrow, but said nothing. She'd ask Eli later. Luffy was laughing, as usual and Usopp was biting his lip and shooting scared looks at Tsuki. He still harboured doubts about Tsuki, but little by little he was starting to lighten up around her.

"So, Chopp, how was it?"

Four heads turned to the boy in the hat, each bearing a questioning expression, unique to each of the bearers.

"How was what?" Chopper finally asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"The martial arts class! Duh! You changed from boxing to martial arts, didn't you?" said Luffy.

"Now that you mention it, werent you in that class too, Eli?" asked Tsuki, getting a bad feeling about this. You'd have thought that after the session, a normal person would've chattered away about it long into the night. Eli hadnt said a word, and Tsuki had nothing important to say. Introducing yourself, your weapon, how familiar you were with it and what you hoped to achieve with it were not interesting.

Eli nodded. Tsuki noticed the drooping head of apology. Oh God, do I really wanna know? She asked herself.

"Fine, not much happened." Said Chopper, glancing at Eli again. "Just had to fight that creepy guy from your class. Not easy, he was really strong."

"Who's this guy?" asked Usopp, making a mental note to avoid this guy once he knew who it was.

"Ryuuzaki." Said Eli, not looking at any one, especially not Tsuki.

Usopp nodded. "Don't worry Chopp, loosing to that guy is no shame, we all know that he's strong. But the great Usopp sama will beat him up for you, never fear." Usopp pulled a confident pose.

Chopper looked at him, stars in his eyes, he nodded. Then he looked at Usopp. "is a draw ok, though?"

Needless to say, Usopp was taken aback. "you drew with him?! You drew with the dreaded L!" yelled Usopp. Ryuuzaki called himself L, he was incredibly paranoid and thought that were his real name to become known, he'd be targeted. Apparently Ryuuzaki was a name he'd given himself at the age of four, and no one could argue as he had no parents. No one knew if his parents had even named him. No one really knew what to say or do in this case.

Aside from his name, the only other thing anyone knew of him was that he was violent, that and the fact that he was Yagami Light's frenemy. Right here, right now, the two were sitting together, staring at each other in silence, thinking about how to continue any conversation the other started. It was always like this, they were suspicious of each other to a fault. Only thing you could do was leave them alone.

"you faught?" asked Tsuki, starting to see something she really didn't want to. "why?"

"Sanji said that he needed to know which martial art we worked well with. We all had to fight an opponant." Eli started babbling, knowing that Tsuki would start piecing the jigsaw together. she fell silent, knowing that she would start to talk about her fight.

Tsuki crossed her arms over her chest, both eyebrows raised now. "did any of the girls fight?" Eli nodded. "How many?"

"One."

"who?"

"Me."

Tsuki sighed, she'd known it. "and the poor victim?"

"Oi oi, wooow! Wait up a bit. Victim!?" Usopp almost screamed, until Tsuki kicked his leg… hard. Then he sort of tentatively whispered "victims?"

"Eli…has issues." Said Tsuki, not finding a nicer way of saying exactly what Eli's problem. Nor did she try very hard.

Usopp fell to repeatedly murmuring the word "issues" hysterically under his breath.

"some guy in the year below, I cant remember his name." Eli was babbling again.

"are you talking about me." Said a blond haired boy, smiling down at her. Tsuki's eyebrows immediately raised themselves to the middle of her forehead. Her eyes asked the ever serious question.

"Hamlet James." He offered Eli a hand.

"Tziganu Eli." She said nervously taking it. "this is Tenshi no Tsuki, my roommate. These guys are…" Eli paused, debating what to call these strange boys who'd been sitting with them for the past three days.

"We're their friends." Said Luffy, laughing as usual. Was it Eli's imagination or was Tsuki expression losing it's sterness as she looked at Luffy. Nah, must be her imagination. James smiled too.

"your names?"

"Monkey D Luffy"

"Tony-Tony Chopper" the owner of the name blushed as he said it.

"Sogeking Usopp."

Handshakes were passed around the table, except Tsuki who was still staring at Eli and starting her usual "stranger danger" attitude. "Mind if I sit down?" asked James. Of course, Tsuki did, but she couldn't really say anything once Luffy had said no. Hamlet James pulled up a chair and sat among the group. He seemed nice enough, he didn't say much, but he listened avidly to their conversations of Luffy's idiocy and Usopp's next excuse, he even participated in coming up with the idea that the sword clubbers cut up his bag.

"Hey," said Luffy. "we're all friends now!" it was a simple sentence, though the meanings in it struck a chord with all of the people around the table. There was a silence so tangible you could cut it with a cake knife. "I'm gonna leave school soon." Said Luffy, making it sound like a finality of impending doom. "and when I do, I don't want to leave a single friend behind." He looked at each of them in turn. "I know Chopper and James kun still have a couple of years till they finish." This idiot was finally starting to make sense. For some reason it made the hairs on Tsuki's arm stand on end, her attention peaked and the throb of her heart felt as though everyone could hear it, if they werent listening to the boy in the straw hat. Not that she would admit that to anyone else. She just listened to the words making themselves heard from the usually empty head on Luffy's shoulders.

"I want you all to promise me." He was saying, "That the moment you leave school, you come and find me and we become our own gang, a white mafia. I don't care about money and stuff, but I hate rules. Lets go and do this!" he placed his hand in mid air in front of him, palm facing the table. He looked at everyone expectantly. Chopper placed his small, surgeons hand on top of his, and Eli followed suit. Usopp placed his on the pile, a smile on his lips. James put his on the pile, but Tsuki kept her arms crossed.

"This is so lame and childish." She said, an eyebrow raised. "I'm not gonna do it."

Luffy made a hurt face. "Why?" he drew out the word, making it a child's whine. Tsuki couldn't keep a straight face. She felt her iron will corroding in her chest. Slowly, gingerly, she placed her hand on top of the large pile…and it was covered by another. This hand was well manicured and bore spangling bangles on its wrist. If you followed the hand up, you eventually found a leering face shrouded in red hair. Nami's clawed hand lay on top of Tsuki's.

"Count me in." she said. Of course Luffy didn't know that there was anything wrong with this proposition, and laughing, nodded. Tsuki pulled her hand away in disgust, making a mental note to wash it. As she kept looking at it in visible disgust, Eli caught the message didn't stop her from sincerely not liking this situation.

"Hooray!" yelled Luffy, "I've got a crew! To the Strawhat Mafia!" everyone smiled, some with more warmth than others, namely Tsuki and Eli, Chopper didn't look too happy either, and raised their glasses, though Usopp started arguing that the group should be called some idiotically long name, and was immediately vehemently rejected. He threatened then that if he felt anything was arong, he'd take over, and all Luffy did was; you guessed it, laughed.

They left the canteen, all chattering about the new group. Tsuki and Eli were whispering together, while Usopp and Luffy were still arguing about who was going to be the leader. Chopper was backing Luffy, yet his eyes shone at the promises Usopp offered him for becoming his subordinate, still he stuck to Luffy, for it had been he to choose him as a friend and he wasn't about to leave him loose.

When they were safely out of earshot, Nami tapped a smiling James on the shoulder. He smile instantly froze in a kind of mask like grimace. He turned to face the red haired harpy.

"Well, Hamlet James. You remember the bargain, don't you?" he nodded, unwilling to now keep his side.


	11. Chapter 11

Nami's Game

"Let me just remind you, so that you don't think you can bullshit me. I promised toget you to the top group, along with the girl you reckon you like." She jerked her head at Eli. "If, and only if, you told me everything they said just now."

Hamlet James gulped, he'd had no choice but to accept this bargain. It was too good to refuse. If he'd refused, he'd have been shunned, he'd never get a chance with Eli. He'd fancied her for ages. She was only a few months older than him, and she was desperately cute, with her chocolate curls and her apple eyes. When she smiled, and that was a rare occurrence, her eyes lit up, glowing like tiny green stars in her face, making the expression around them shine. During that fight at the martial arts club, he'd watched to see which club she'd go for and followed her, eager to get his angel to notice him. He hadnt realised that they had tofight each other, but he'd leapt at the chance to prove himself chivilrous and help up the lady he'd felled, act a perfect gentleman and hopefully get a smile directed his way.

But as we all know, his plan fell face first in the mud as his angel turned into a form of mental freak and attacked him, forced him to the ground and had nearly ripped his throat from his neck.

James had looked at himself in the mirror that night. He had looked pale as a sheet and shaken to the core. He must have scared her out of her wits, he'd seen her eyes, seen the way she had looked… like she was about to cry. And what did you do? He asked himself, you left her to that kid to look after, you scarpered like a deer and now she probably thinks you'll hate her forever.

He didn't hate Eli, on the contrary, the fight had made him think of her as a challenge, she was going to be his, he'd be the one to tame her, she would smile at him, she would smile for him. "So help me God, I'll do it!" he'd hissed under his breath. Then of course, word got out. And then it came to Nami. She shut everyone up, told them to leave it to her. And of course they did, you didn't argue with Nami as a rule.

She'd found him in the library, reading up for the English lesson.

"Like Shakespeare Hamlet kun?" she had asked, he'd nodded. "Hamlet's a nice play, hey, Hamlet kun?" he'd nodded again, even though he hated Hamlet with a vengeance. Of course he was always asked to read Hamlet's parts, and believe me that dude can never say what he wants to say in one line, oh no; he has to have a monologue for everything, and the whole fight's for no real reason didn't do much to help his feeling of hatred towards the play. As soon as he married, he'd take his wife's name, rather than have her take his, he didn't plan on allowing any son, or daughter for that matter, of his reading out Hamlet's long dreary, insanely complex monologues simply because their surname was Hamlet.

Nami had grinned and raised her eyebrows, knowing full well that he was scared of her, like the rest of these idiots. "I heard that you like that girl."

Hamlet blushed, but held his ground. "which one, there are too many for me to know which one Theifssen senpai means."

Nami had leant in to whisper into his ear "the so called wolf pup." Hamlet's face had completely drained itself of colour.

"I'm not wrong, it would seem." Smirked Nami. "apparently, she almost killed you."

"That's not true!"

"ouh, a touchy subject. Could this be love?" yet another more of a statement than a question.

Hamlet's blush was more than enough to proove the statement correct and Nami instantly homed in on it. She started asking him some banal girly questions, like "have you asked her out?" "why do you like her?" and "do you think she likes you?". He'd replied in one word sentences, blushing the whole time: "yes" "dunno" "dunno".

"you men are hopeless!" Nami had semi wailed. "here, I'll do you a favour. I'll see to it that you get the girl, and that you both come into my little group." The look on James face was a mixture of ecstasy and admiration for Nami, if this is her, then people give her really bad press, he had thought.

"but I need you to do a little something for me in return." James nodded, this was only to be expected, one could only repay kindness with kindness. "I want you to sit with her during lunch and tell me everything she says. I want to know everything she says, and her friends." Then Nami leered her usual. "and I want a tenner for my pains." James had gone skipping out of the library. A tenner was nothing for a smile, and he got to sit with her during lunch, what could possibly be Nami's interest in this generosity. However, during his english class, he'd managed to successfully duck out of reading at all that lesson, he knew something was suspicious about the bargain he'd made earlier. Then it hit him that Nami must be keeping tabs on his darling girl. She was the next victim and he had walked headlong into the trap. And he'd paid for it!

Hamlet James, you are the worlds biggest twit. He scolded himself internally. Not only that, you're the worlds most blind dimwitt and you have condemned her to Nami's hands.

A couple of hours after that fated meeting, the bell for lunch had rung and the miserable excuse for a boy walked towards a canteen where he could win or fail. But equally he would bring about the tears that spilled from her eyelids. It would be his fault. The poetic thought tore his heart apart. James was the school's poet, he often won the competitions, and he swore his name had a hand in it somewhere. I mean come on, a guy called Hamlet signs in for a poetry competition. It'd be stupid if he didn't win. Still, he did hope to become a lyrics writer, join a band, become famous, yeh you guessed it, the usual dream.

He'd joined the table at lunch time, he couldn't do anything else. He knew Nami would be watching his every move. He'd even lost a tenner over it. The biggest twit! Ever!

But he couldn't say he didn't enjoy his time with Eli and her friends. But he couldn't say he was tottally willing to spill the beans to the newly recognised vixen that was Nami.

"cat got your tongue? Or do you not want to keep your little girlfriend a secret?" Nami's leer said it all. She'd keep it a secret if she got what she wanted. That appeared to be the information promised. And hopefully the hand gesture she was making was harmless.

"tell me what was said, or you'll feel it." Said the leering face of evil personified.

So what could the kid do, he wasn't strong like some. Stronger in mind than in body, main reason for joining that club at all. Nami would either have someone beat him up or torture him herself to get her information. When I say torture, I mean the kind of torture only possible through secret sharing.

Like the coward he was and never hoped to be, James spilled it look on Nami's face changed rapidly from boredom to interest and then suddenly to fear.

"lemme get this straight." She said. "I have just joined a white mafia?" James nodded.

Oh shite! Thought Nami. Now what are you gonna do? Arlong and Luffy, a choice. She hadnt counted on that. still, if she was going to get rid of the first, keeping Luffy and his gang was part of the plan right?

She made her decision, keep up this charade and get rid of her enemy. Time to act happy. She smiled and waved her hand under the unfortunates nose. This might be an oppertune moment to describe Nami's hand gesture that has been almost permanent throughout this whole scene. It has to be said that she often had this hand gesture, just in case she could use it at any given moment. She didn't plan on staying in the poor state she'd been adopted to. So, she extorted her fellow students. The hand profered hand its fingers pressed together, its thumb gently carressing them. It was common body language for "pay up". Sighing, James rifled through the pockets of his jeans and found a fiver. Grudgingly he handed it to the bitch opposite him. As she disappeared into the distance, he wondered what tomorrow's club meeting would bring. Who's was the bright idea to have the meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays?


	12. Chapter 12

**Lies and Secrets**

The second club meeting. Eli's heart raced as she ran down the steps to the gyms halls. The school having been built on a slight slope kept the gyms at the bottom of it, whereas everything else was on a courtyard that had been made smooth by force and covered in concrete. It was one thing Eli hated about school, it had to be concrete, not trees. Beside her, Tsuki's rapid breathing puffed rhythmically. Eli knew that by the time they got to the gym hall, Tsuki would look immaculate, barely puffing, no sweat to be seen. She on the other hand, would look a mess of curls and would be panting for a few minutes. Not that she ever straightened her hair, which was naturally wavey, but still a messy mop of curls is not pleasant to brush, knots everywhere.

The door loomed in front of them. She reached for the handle, another hand appearing beside it. The girls burst through the door, and found the hall empty.

"Eli, I think I'm gonna kill you." Said a quiet venomous voice in Eli's right ear. Contrary to all expectations, a wide grin spread itself across the green eyed girls face. She laughed.

"Tsuki nee, how else am I supposed to race you?" Although the two were cousins, Eli called Tsuki "nee", an abbreviation of nee san, mainly because she was closest to the tall, imposing girl. The fact that Tsuki was older than she was, and her roommate made this link even more taught than it already was.

At that moment, Tsuki's eyebrow was raised, her arms crossed under her breasts. "race me?" she whispered, sounding fairly angry and murderous, if this were a cartoon as opposed to real life, lightening bolts of annoyance would be trying to roast Eli at this point in time. But Eli simply laughed.

"you'd have never have done it had I not told you we were late."

"you got me all worked up for a childish game?" from this distance, Tsuki's eyes looked black, her slanting fringe hiding her eyes in blotchy shadow. Kudos to Eli, her smile never wavered, even for an instant. Not when Tsuki's long slender hands with the amythist painted nails curled themselves into fists. Not even when the skirt of the long, tight fitting black dress she always wore (ok, she never wore the same dress, but that was her uniform) started fluttering in a nonexistant breeze.

Suddenly, Tsuki's head jerked backwards. Her features were set in a look of defiance. At least, anyone would call it defiance if they didn't know her. Eli knew it was her look of shock or, on rarer occasions, that of fear. The skirt stopped its billowing. Tsuki's eyes were wide, and she scowled. She pressed a hand to her forehead. She shot a glare in Eli's direction. Her eyes plainly said: this is all your fault.

Eli bowed her head. Yes, this had been all her fault. Not just the race, but what had just happened, Tsuki's skirt, it was her fault.

It had all happened a year and a half ago. Eli had just joined the school. She'd been placed in a room with Tenshi no Tsuki, sole survivor of her village. Eli had looked into those violet eyes, impossible not to. She had asked the girl how her eyes could be that shade of purple. Apparently an ancestor had been an albino, and since it'd been a female ancestor, the genes were passed on through the generations, becoming steadily more mutated until finally settling on the stunning amythist seen in Tsuki's. it had only been granted to females, though. For albinoism, anyone who does biology would know, it is usually the females who carrying the gene and the men who suffer from it, and a few rare cases of female sufferers. Yet this one had mutated since the dawn of the albinos and presented itself solely to females, and only possible to notice in the colour of their eyes, though white haired women did turn up here and there. This small piece of information had taken weeks of researching, Tsuki never said anything about herself to new people. Eli had spent hours in the library looking at pictures of women with purple eyes, trying to decipher the puzzle.

Alexandria's genesis was out, cos Eli being the animal she was, trusted her instincts, which told her that the possibility was out. Of course, they were absolutely right.

Tsuki had been outraged by the intrusion. She had asked Eli how she would feel if someone asked her all about her past. And Eli, bless her, had told the older girl all about her past, about living with the wolves, killing her father as he "rescued" her from the wolves to live with the gypsies and how she'd found out that her mother had been Sora, sister of Akihide, mayor of a large town in a remote countryside. It was at this point that Tsuki has stood up, crossed the small bedroom and slapped Eli across the face. The girls apple green eyes had widened in shock, she'd pressed a hand to her cheek. What happened next had chilled Tsuki to the core. The girl's posture had shifted and she had howled at the ceiling, like an animal. Suddenly, Robin had been standing at the doorway and had ordered Tsuki to leave and see Ace. Tsuki had leaned against the outer wall of the bedroom, listening to the snarls from within and Robin repeating the words "calm down" in both an ordering and a compassionate voice. Tsuki had snorted derisively and gone to see Ace, one could only handle a limited amount of weirdness. And then he'd asked her out. There were days, when she was lying in bed alone at night, how she'd managed to get into these random situations. "always me" she would whisper to the surrounding darkness, "always me. why?"

The wierdness got deeper after another month. Tsuki caught herself staring at moving pencils. Ok, that does not mean they were being twiddled during idle school hours, but she stared at them, and they would move to wherever she decided they ought to. It was creepy. But hadnt she known for ages that, aside from the strange albino woman from her mother's side, that her father's side was full of psychics. But why now? She'd hit puberty without any sign of "talent" and now it was all too much. Of course, who could fail to suspect outside influence, in other words Eli. There had been shunnings, isolation, even bullying on Tsuki's part to get Eli to leave the dorm, the school and her. Eli had bore with it though. Mainly because all the other dorms were full, and she wanted to know what Tsuki's problem was. Yeh, ok, I'll admit it, she was, and still is a masochist.

Tsuki was still shooting daggers at Eli as the club gathered around. Zoro simply barged in, yelling "To your tutors!" and barged off with his group in tow behind him. Tsuki walked at her fast steady pace behind him. Yes, since her roommate had arrived, life had gotten interesting, to say the least. She looked over at the boxing group. The two hat brothers were standing together, talking and laughing. She was too far to hear what was going on, and she didn't really care. What she did care about was deciding on who she was really looking at: Ace or his brother.

The two brothers were standing up in the middle of the hall. Their group was the lucky one that stayed in the hall while all the others left.

"Right guys, lets get those mats out again." Said Ace, smiling. The kids did as they were told. After last week's demo, no one could doubt the two D brothers.

Beside Ace, Luffy chuckled. "I'll beat you this time, Ace." He had a grin on his face, and his eyes sparkled with determination.

"I look forward to it, li'l' bro." smirked Ace.

Soon the mats were placed in a satisfactory manner, making a softer landing pad for people to fall on. Ace handed out boxing gloves, extra padded ones. You might think this is stupid, but a bunch of kids with broken jaws and bloody noses would probably have lost him his job and Luffy his place. Not that he'd mind, noted Ace, looking at Luffy's smiling face as he laughed at some of the reverant looks some of the others were fixing him with.

This didn't last too long, however. Ace stood in the middle of the makeshift boxing ring, hands thrust deep into pockets, head bowed so that his eyes remained covered. The aura coming off him was frightening, and it stunned the boxing team into silence. All sat on the floor and gazed at the muscle bound councellor, waiting to hear what it was he had to say.

"welcome back." The orange clad head, raised itself, revealing a scary smile, that of a predator. "this time, we're gonna test you on what you remember. Then we might have a couple of demonstrations again. Get into pairs."

The class shuffled around, teaming up. Some just put their arms over their partners shoulder as a sign of teaming, other more nervous people simply went up to strangers or "know by face people" to ask if they had found a partner yet. Gradually, the crowd thinned, and eventually; sometimes with a few pushes from Ace, the herd split equally into two. Well almost equally, Luffy was left without a partner, but Ace planned on fighting him himself.

"Right, you two." He pointed at a random pair, he didn't much care who they were. "demonstrate what we did on Tuesday."

He watched as the two showed the boxing stance, raising their right fist near their cheek and the left hovering just before their chin. He was bored now, after watching them jab and punch each other half heartedly, he very nearly fell asleep. He rifled through his pocket, pulling out a beautifully engraved gold pill box. The engraving was of a star, supposedly the star of bethlehem or something. To him, it was a constant reminder of his girl, his Tsuki, his star. He opened the box, taking a pill out from the inside and popped it in his mouth. At once, his sleepiness faded. Man those antinarcolepsy tablets pack a punch! He thought as the pill slid down his throat. These doctors were getting better at this.

Finally he got everyone to try out a new exercise, watched, growing more and more bored. Then he stood up, stretched and shot Luffy a glance. That was their signal to fight each other. There was another fifteen minutes. Perfect. Enough time for them to see who could do better.

"Ok, well done everybody. Get off the mats." Everybody ran off, eager now that they were hyped up through training to see what the two could really do. It was obvious to all that they had toned it down last time to show them the basics. This time, Ace had promised a proper fight, to show them that boxing really was worth it.

As his stage cleared, Ace walked into the centre. A spotlight could have shone on him and he wouldn't look out of place.

"As promised, I shall show you what the point to this club is: defending yourself in real life situations. The question here is: Why boxing? How does it help me?" some of the students started nodding with varying levels for enthusiasm. "boxing is a violent sport, more so than a means of defense. However, there are times when throwing a good punch comes in handy." He looked at the classes only girl. Unlike the other girls in this school, she was a heavy set, muscly girl. Her face spoke of numerous punches and a murderous intent. Her bleached hair, cropped short, made her look like a boy, but there was no removing the evidence displayed by her chest. She was only fifteen, yet she looked a lot older, possibly eighteen, and her emerald eyes, the only beautiful thing about her, showed a knowledge of the streets, of the alley ways where your not supposed to go. She was reknowned for her fights, Tsuki's rival in the record holding, and she had a black eye nearly everytime anyone saw her. She had one now. Her name was McNoodle Nancy, and she kept herself busy by beating the hell out of people who found it amusing.

She lived in the slums of the city, with her father, a bricklayer whose hobby was to drink himself into a stupor everynight and cry for the wife who had left him with his daughter. She'd grown up with him since the age of six, when her mother left, and had had to bring him home from the pub every night, passing by the whore pits, the boozers, the mafia hideouts and the ragamuffins, each time earning herself a gorgeous bruise somewhere. As time passed, the bruises lessened in number, but she could never forget the time some drunk boys, older than she was, had tried to rape her, confusing her with a prostitute from the pits next door. She'd joined the club to learn to protect herself, and boxing seemed the right thing to do.

At this point she was staring at Ace, intent on what he was telling them. She was the best at this so far, she learned quickly because she knew she needed it, and Ace did too. They knew each other fairly well, she was another of his most common visitors.

"Luffy, come at me with all you got." Said Ace, raising his fists into the traditional boxers stance, beckoning like those crazy japanese martial arts experts in films. Needless to say that got a good laugh out of their audience. A temporary one anyway, for they soon realised that the two were deadly serious, even if Luffy was smiling.

Luffy stepped forward, throwing punch after punch, while Ace dodged and blocked. Then Ace attacked while Luffy defended himself. Then Ace nodded and Luffy lowered his hands.

"This is exactly what we have learnt to do, just faster." There was an intake of breath from the whole crowd. "Now, Luffy, try and stab me." Luffy looked puzzled. "Pretend there's a knife in your hand and you want to stab me." the other boy shruged and did as he was told. Ace whirled around and punched him in the stomach, not hard, but enough to wound him.

"In boxing, you cant afford to be slow, you cant afford to give your enemy a chance to creep up and stab you first. You have to be what those kids in the martial arts class are trying to be: ninja like. You cant afford to not know when you're being followed." A consensus of nodding. "right, lets continue." They did so for another ten minutes, then Ace sent everyone back to the dorms. It had ended well enough, of course the black eye was not going to impress Tsuki on their date on Saturday, nor was Luffy's going to pass unnoticed. Ah well, bravado acts are cute now arent they.

As he placed the mats back alone, he couldn't allow the students to do it if this was the approach he was going to have, and it was, he became aware of a pair of eyes boring into the back of his head.

"Nancy? Why are you still here?"

Nancy moved forwards and stood in front of him. Her green eyes looked determined. "Ace, I know about your secret." She said, her voice deep and warm, but her eyes cold.

"enlighten me, what secret."

"you and Tenshi." Ace wanted to look shocked, but he knew he had to keep this secret no matter what. He settled for raising an eyebrow and looking incredulous, to the best of his ability.

"Tsuki? What happened to her. You know she comes to see me too."

"I do. And don't bullshit me! you're going out with her."

"Aha, so that's what you think? I'm not. She just needs a lot of support; don't tell her I told you, but her family died in a fire and her uncle's after her inheritance. So she has nowhere to go."

"then you wont mind kissing me."

Ace was startled. Kiss Nancy Not Fancy? Not likely.

"Nancy, it's more than my job's worth to kiss students. Don't try to get me fired." He pleaded. She laughed. Ace couldn't be sure if she was onto him or if she was off his sent.

"good point, good night Ace aniki." Now it was his turn to stare, a question forming on his lips. Then he remembered that she hadnt anyone to look after her, properly speaking, so she probably was just attaching herself to the person she most trusted. She closed the door behind her and Ace sat down on one of the many benches that lined the walls and held his face in his hand. Double lives were alright for some, but right now, he wished he didn't live one. In a minute he'd be called to the pub again. What a pain.

Robin sat in her office, reading the letters she'd just received that day. They were coming out faster now. She'd received three today. This was getting serious.

As she read, sentences flashed up at her:

"drug dealing"

"crime"

"punishment"

These she'd expected, but it was the line at the bottom of the latest one that was scaring her the most. She had picked up the last letter, torn open the envelope, read the message, checked the other side and there…

There on the other side

In the middle of the other side…

In Brackets…

Capital letters…

Quoted…

Read the following words:

**( "REMEMBER, REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER!").**

The footnote had said that if she failed to cooperate by the fifth of November, she'd be sent to prison and all that she had worked for would be destroyed.

"I have to warn Franky. Oh God, why didn't I kill him!" she howled at the ceiling, then collapsed onto the desk, sobbing quietly so as not to alarm anyone. This time, she wouldn't hesitate. In one month from now, eh? She'd be ready for him, that Crocodile.


	13. Chapter 13

**Preparations and Depressions**

Needless to say, Friday flew by for the students until last lesson, when they all began clockwatching. Each passing tick of the second hand made the lesson more bearable: just another second off. Too bad for Eli, her last lesson on Fridays was maths. She wasn't good at maths, but she wasn't bad either, so she'd taken the harder maths course just to keep her on her toes.

At last the bell rang and Eli ran back to her dormitory. Tsuki was already there, deep in thought looking at a pair of dresses. One was black with violet streaks, the other pure black with slashes around the hip area.

"the violet one, goes with your eyes." Said Eli, used to these tacit debates. They happened every week, just not with the same clothes.

Every Saturday, the students from the Merry Sunny school were allowed out for the day. The day started from 10 am till 12 pm. However, Tsuki was lucky. Her boyfriend was Ace, so she was allowed to stay with him until he came back. Their excuse? Simple. He needed to make sure she didn't get into any fights. She was well known in the streets for being violent when she thought anyone was looking at her. It was then that they went on dates, if they thought they could get away with it.

Tsuki nodded, she was leaning towards the violet anyway. The dress was a midnight black with large violet flowers dotted on the skirt which were joined by a bright green vine. The same pattern could be found around the sleeves up to elbow height. It had a long sweeping skirt that would reach Tsuki's knees, a tailored black top with a decently low scoop neckline, not too high, but not too low. The sleeves were tight up till the elbow then flowed out in a conical shape. The sleeves and skirt were made out of that light material that looks and feels like crepe paper, only it's much sterdier. The top, from the waist up was made of tight black silk.

Not for the first time, Eli was envious of Tsuki's fantastic dresses, though she didn't really mind, she just thought they were gorgeous and wished she could've had something similar. However, when she had asked Tsuki where she got her dresses from, her reply had been that they had been presents from her parents who had been saving them for her eighteenth birthday. You're probably wondering how they survived the fire? Simple, they'd been left in a bank vault, along with jewlery. It was all hers now, and she'd asked for it to stay there, not to be given to the greedy Akihide, but she had free access to her stuff, mainly because the bank manager was a family friend who missed the Tenshi's almost as much as Tsuki herself.

Tsuki ran into the suite bathroom, I did mention that Robin was rolling in cash right?, and tried the dress on. It fit her like a glove, showing her assets to perfection, but at the same time keeping her dignity. She looked like a princess of legend. Meanwhile, Eli fidgeted around in the jewlery box, found nothing and started rummaging around in hers. These were her prized possessions, but she would lend them to her cousin. She knew Tsuki wouldn't lose them, or break them. Sighing, she handed her cousing a pair of amythist earings and a necklace. Tsuki stared at Eli.

The necklace was a silver chain with a piece of amythist carved into a crescent moon dangling as a pendant. The earrings were a pair of stars of the same material.

"No way. I cant accept these." She said, closing Eli's hand around the gems and pushing it back towards her.

"but that dress needs a necklace, and you don't have anything interesting. It's all onyx and ruby. You need something else. Look after them, I want them back. Kay?"

"Hell no! keep them, you might need then."

"I'm scared to wear them, I lose even the most worthless pieces. I know you'll look after them. Have them."

"Eli…I dunno what to say."

"then act, take them."

"The only action I feel like doing is slapping you round the face to get you to keep them."

"has that ever worked. Be honest with yourself, it hasn't. take them and be grateful."

Reluctantly, Tsuki reached out a hand and accepted the loan. She heaved an exasperated sigh.

They spent the rest of that afternoon and evening before dinner sorting out how to do Tsuki's hair and make up, deciding that violet eyeshadow was overdoing it, and that browns would keep the look natural and that lilacy pink lipstick would be best. The hair was another story. When they heard the dinner bell, Tsuki changed back into her uniform black dress, plain with the school's crest and a slight V neck, and the two hurried to the dining hall.

The dining hall was the only place where students and teachers ever ate together. It was a large room, full of long wooden tables and a head table for the teachers. Eli and Tsuki simply sat at the only available places, and prepared to tuck into tonights meal of penne alla arrabiata. Tsuki ate very little, ever since the shock of finding herself all alone, she had only eaten half the normal portion at every meal. She didn't feel like eating, pure and simple, it wasn't anorexia.

Usually, the two sat alone at the end of the nearest table. Today was different. They had sat down and Luffy had jumped up from his table, Usopp clinging to his shirt in a futile attempt to stop him.

"Oi! We saved you seats!" he yelled.

The girls looked at each other, Eli shrugged and they went and sat down with Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and James. Oh, and Nami was there too, grinning like a cooked cat. That made the pair hesitate, then sit down, showing looks of determination. They were not going to let Nami become a deciding factor in this.

"wo'cha guysh doin' tomowow?" asked Luffy, mouth full of penne. Translated, he had said "whatcha guys doing tomorrow?"

"going to meet a friend." Said Tsuki.

"anyone we know?" asked the polite Chopper.

"No, an old friend from kindergarden." Said Tsuki.

"Cang we meetsh 'im?" asked luffy. "can we meet him" is the question.

"No, he does like strangers." Said Tsuki.

I don't doubt it, thought Eli.

"Eli, what bout you?" asked Luffy, finally swallowing his fifth mouthful.

"I don't have anything to do, so I'll probably hang out around town."

"Alone?" asked Chopper.

"Yeh." Eli shrugged.

"You can come with us, it'll be fun." Said Luffy. Eli looked at him, a smile on her face.

"Actually." Murmured a tiny voice beside her. She looked and saw James looking at her with a strange gleam in his eyes. "if Eli san's not doing anything, would you go…" his nerve left him, but she was staring at him now. What do I do?

"Awww, isnt that cute." Crooned Nami, her smile widening.

"Eli san." He said abruptly. "Would you go on a date with me?" there he'd asked! Stuff you Nami!

Eli's eyes widened. "you want…to go on a date…with me?" she repeated slowly. Did I knock him down too hard? Did he get brain damage?

"Yes." He sounded sure of himself.

Eli remained hesitant. Was this some inferiority complex? She looked to Tsuki for guidance. Fat chance! The girl was sitting opposite her, eyebrows raised. She was not going to be of any help.

"James kun, are you feeling alright? This is not the aftermath of the first club meeting is it?"

Now James' eyes widened and he shook his head vehemently. "No, nothing like that! It's just…" he broke off, he'd lost the courage to tell her his feelings, especially since Nami's catlike grin was off putting.

What do I do? Asked Eli to her inner reasoning. She had understood the language in the boys eyes, and it frightened her. She had never had a love, never felt it. She didn't feel it now to be honest, but she didn't want to hurt the boys feelings. Particularly since her instinct towards future time told her that this would be the right thing to do.

"Alright. But I don't have anything to wear."

"I don't care. I just want you to…" he broke off, before Nami went and ruined the moment.

Eli's eyes filled with happy tears, finally a guy who likes me! she nodded.

That night, she and Tsuki sat on their beds.

"So, Eli, you've got a date." Smirked Tsuki, genuinely amused. "he's a little young for my tastes, only go out with an older guy is my thing. But he is cute."

"aww, shuddup! Besides, I need to practice, right? Cant find Mr Right and discover I'm useless."

"true." Silence for a few moments. "What are you going to wear?"

Eli blushed. "I have nothing except my school uniform, but he said that was ok."

"You have got to be kidding me! no wonder you always look at my dresses as though they're from mars! Right, you're lending me that gorgeous necklace, I can at least lend you a decent dress."

"Tsuki nee!"

They rummaged through Tsuki's large wardrobe and finally found a dress, black of course, with bright green tints of velvet in it, forming the shape of waves roiling around the hem and sleeve openings.

"It's a bit small for me now." Said tsuki, looking at the skirts and sleeves' lengths. "here, I never gave you a birthday present last year, did i?"

Eli shook her head.

"When is your birthday anyway?"

"I don't know."

"That helps." Tsuki's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"I think it's in February, the gypsies used to say I was a pisces."

"Ah well, I didn't give you a present last February. Happy really late birthday." She was sincere. Eli looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

"What! Take it back! I cant take your stuff!"

"Hey, it's not as if I can wear it! It's yours,…cousin."

Eli's eyes watered. She picked up the dress and hugged it, then she tried it on. It was a almost perfect, like all hand me downs it was a tiny bit big where the material had given way through use, but she loved it none the less.

"now, what to wear as jewelry?" murmured Tsuki behind her. "do you have anything else?" Eli shook her head. "Time to return a favour, then. Now we're quits." Eli nodded. Tsuki handed her a choker with a tear shaped ruby hanging on the middle of the piece of black leather. She wrapped it around Eli's neck. It gleamed like a bead of blood at the center of her chest, the chord wrapped three times around her neck. It looked like something out of a ghost story.

Eli shivvered. It was a far off memory, but still, her past had been drenched in that beautifully coloured liquid. She had killed her father, his friends had killed the wolves, they in turn had been massacred by the police for information on the mafia heads, she and another girl had been tortured and were the sole survivors. Robin had been her saviour. She'd told them that she'd look after Eli, and she had, for the past year.

Tsuki handed her a pair of earings with similar rubies. Eli looked at her. Undoing the golden hoops that she kept in her ears at all times. A thirteenth birthday present. She fitted the red gemstones into her ears.

"right, make up. Indulge me my creature comforts. I'm gonna mess around." Said Tsuki, brandishing a mascara pencil in Eli's direction.

By the time they had finished, Eli's eyes were lined in eyeliner and the lids were painted with light greens and golds and the lashes looked abnormally long. Her eyes looked like a cat's she reckoned. Her lips had been painted ruby red and her hair was curled, it's natural waviness ending in sausage curls. Suddenly there was the sound of the door knob being turned and an unwelcome visitor peered into the room. She, for it was a girl, looked the two up and down in their dresses and make up.

"Wow, now you look like a witch coven. How cosy."

"Fuck off, Theifssen." Growled Tsuki. The grin was still on Nami's face, the one she'd had at dinner.

"or what, princess Circe's gonna shoot me with her magic wand."

"Cirwho?" asked Tsuki.

"Circe, the witch in the odyssey who turned men into pigs." Whispered Eli

"I think that'd suit you just fine, Theifssen."

"Oh, look. Tenshi reckon's she can take me on. Adorable."

"Don't push it, fake!"

"Witches should be burned at the stake."

"and we arent here to fight your battles."

Nami looked stunned. If she was, Tsuki looked dumbfounded.

"What are you talking about? I never said anything about battles. Leave me alone, freak!"

She ran to the door, slamming it shut behind her.

Eli looked at Tsuki, realised what had happened and sat her on the bed.

"Don't worry, this is just intuition. You only knew that because her eyes said that. Though I deliberately don't look at Nami's eyes, their full of angst." Tsuki remained silent, while Eli babbled.

"Look Tsuki, this is alright, everything will be fine."

"Idiot!" spat Tsuki, venom coating the word. "this is just weird. Moving things that shouldn't move, seeing Nami's true self. This is just stupid!"

"welcome to my world!"

"No! I don't want to be a part of your stinking world! This is just you toying with me. I don't like it! Leave me alone!"

Now it was Eli's her eyes to widen in horror and shock. She felt the prickle of tears and ran out of the room, still dress up.

Inside the room, Tsuki looked at the door, realising what she had just done. she lay on her bed, curling on her side to continue her gazing at the wooden door, that now looked slightly unreal. "Shit, why me!"

In her room, Nami was curled up on her bed. What Tsuki had said had touched her very soul. She was the school's biggest bitch, and she knew it. But they knew nothing about her! Who were they to judge until they lived what she had! As she lay curled up in the gathering darkness she wept silent tears, trying not to wake Vivi. "Why me?" she asked the darkness.

Eli ran. She ran to the only person who would understand her. She was lucky, there was a light on in the final destination.

She exploded into Robin's office.

"Eli chan? What's the matter? Eli chan?"

Robin got up and hurriedly guided Eli to a chair. The girl curled up and placed her head on the arm. She muttered strings of incomprehensible words and gutteral noisese.

As she seemed to regain herself, Robin patted her head and looked into her eyes. Then Eli looked into her teacher and mentor's eyes and asked : "Why me?" before falling asleep on the chair. Robin found a blanket from her bedroom adjacent to her office and covered the sleeping figure.

When she had done so, she sat on the sofa, looked from Eli, to the problematic letters, then out of her window at the school buildings. Then she clapsed her head in her hands and asked : "Why me?"

(Dear readers,

Yay that there are more of you now! Anyway, there are a couple of things I'd like to clear up. Firstly, the expression "grinning like a cooked cat" is a slovenian expression referring to a cheesey grin, because apparently, I wouldn't know but anyway, when you cook a cat it's facial muscles contract into a smile. Don't ask me, a slovene friend told me, and I'm gonna take her word for it. Secondly, the term used "Tsuki nee" has nothing to do with Rosario+Vampire's main character Tsukune. It was a complete coincidence as I have only just watched that anime! Thanks for reading, Elichan)


	14. Chapter 14

**"Back by Midnight"**

Tsuki and Eli were waiting in the atrium. Tsuki was fidgeting with her hands, running her hands up and down her sleeves, clutching her elbow, crossing her arms. Suddenly she flung down her arms in a gesture of exasperation. Sighing she then crossed her arms again.

Eli was standing still, not knowing what to do. She looked at Tsuki and shot her calming looks every now and then. It was only half nine. They were waiting for the two guys to turn up.

A slight chuckle made them look around. Nami was standing on the last stair of the staircase, arm resting on the wooden railing with her chin resting in her cupped palm, one knee bent, the other hand resting on her hip. Her cruel mouth twisted in a leer. Obviously she didn't fear the two girls in daylight. How naïve. Just because it's dark does not mean things are scarier. However, nami was working under the oppinion that these two were vampires, or something of that ilk. Yes, really naïve.

"look at you two. Don't you look sweet!" if there was one thing the two girls hated, it was nami, and if there was something they hated more than Nami, it was Nami when she was patronising. In an instant, Tsuki was scowling and Eli was barely ignoring her.

"shut up, fake!" hissed Tsuki, blood boiling, but then hid it with a smirk of derision. "I see you're dressed for work." She was gesturing at the low cut top, with short sleeves, and the wayyyyy too short miniskirt Nami was wearing. Unfortunately, Nami didn't get it.

"what work?" she looked puzzled.

"oh, you mean you don't work in the red lamp district?"

That cleared that up.

"Tenshi, you bitch! I'll pay you back for that." Something caught her eye and she saw a flash of blue hair. Franky was making his way to the door, eagerly approaching his day off. She couldn't do anything to repay the remark right now. "I'll get you back, next club meeting." And with a smirk of her own, Nami turned and walked through the grand entrance.

"Ha! I'll be waiting! It's on now, bring it!" yelled Tsuki.

"Tenshi, young girls don't speak that way." Chastised Franky, having just that second caught up to them. Tsuki whirled to find Franky behind her. Shit how could she have missed the giant? Specially when he was wearing his traditional swimsuit?

"how can the young, my little sisters, have such terrible mouths."Franky was tearing up. "just don't do it again." He then ran for the door, and his secret.

"huh? Did he just call us his sisters?" asked a bewildered Tsuki.

"Yeh. He believes in the bible's story that we're all brothers and sisters."

"Don't do that you nearly scared me!"

"Oh, so the little princess doesn't like me walking up to her?"

"I don't like to get caught out, specially not twice, Ace." You guessed it, Ace had creeped up behind her and answered her question.

He looked different, Eli couldn't quite place it, then she realised he had removed his hat. Without it, his head looked strange. However, he had done more than remove his hat. He was wearing a black silk shirt with a golden dragon flashing across it, the tail across his sleeve, and the rest adorning the back. He had left it unbuttoned. And his muscled chest was clearly visible. He had left his usual three quarter legnth trousers for a pair of black jeans, and his boots had been replaced with black trainers. His hair was tied back in a mini poney tail, finally allowing his facial planes to be seen. He looked dashing.

Tsuki gave him the once over. "you look good." The only consent she was prepared to give him at that moment, he'd pay for spooking her.

Ace grinned, expecting this reaction. He made sure no one was around, Tsuki had asked him not to mention their relationship, and his job would be taken away for this, but he didn't care. If his girl was happy, then he was. "Sorry babe, didn't mean it. Anyway, think of me. I'm feeling hurt right now."

"Huh?"

"My girl didn't recognise me. how do you think I feel." His smile was the only proof that this was in fact a lie. Tsuki almost laughed, but she held herself in check.

"Ah well, I can try all I like, right?" Ace offered her his arm. Grudgingly, Tsuki took the proffered arm, said "see ya" to Eli and headed off with Ace into the town. As she did, she eased up. Now they could go to the parts of town that only they knew. At last, it was just them.

Eli waited for James. Unlike Tsuki, she was patient, but even her patience wore thin. She reckoned she'd give him until ten, then she'd get annoyed. That meant James had another ten minutes to turn up. She hummed to herself as she stood there, watching people leave the atrium, in groups or on their own, nobody in their right mind would stay in school any longer than they had to.

Luffy Chopper and Usopp passed her by, and she nodded in acknowledgement as they walked past.

"Oh, Eli! I didn't see you." Luffy turned his head around and beamed at her, making a smile spread across her face. The fact that he'd actually stopped to say hi was touching.

The other two stopped and looked at her, finally recognising the girl that had somehow managed to become their friend, or more appropriately their aquaintance. They'd sat at the same table for a week, and Eli didn't really wear make up.

"you look…different." Said Usopp, trying to keep the fundamental rules of complimenting girls and keeping off another guys territory at the same looked at him.

"different nice or different crap?" she asked worriedly. Usopp blushed, his childhood as a tenant farmer meant that he was not as familiar with girls as someone who'd lived in the city, say Sanji.

"Different nice." Said Chopper, who was young enough to get away with it. Eli smiled at him, happy to receive the nodded. Luffy simply laughed.

"Different weird if you ask me." he said, making Eli cringe. "Never seen you like that before." Eli understood then that he meant that she looked different and he wasn't used to it. She could live with that.

"You guys seen Hamlet kun around?" she asked.

"He was said to be trying to be immaculate." Said Usopp, rolling his eyes.

Suddenly a flash of blond hair came into view. Usopp pointed and said something along the lines of "that's him now" but Eli wasn't paying attention. She was staring at this guy as if he'd landed from mars. There was no doubt in her mind who he'd gone to ask for advice. Something to do with a two piece suit with a black tie and blue shirt, hair covering one eye and the other sporting an eyebrow that twisted to form an over-the-top question mark. The only thing missing was a cigarette. Eli was on a date with a mini sanji.

"Heh? Sanji what're you doing out of the kitchens? Did you shrink? You should eat more meat." Said Luffy.

"Luffy san, it's me, James." Said the poor boy looking like he might just collapse. He looked at Eli, who still looked like a UFO had just landed in front of her.

"Eli chan, you look stunning." He said, slightly disconcerted by the look she was giving him. Maybe it was just her way of thinking he was attractive. Sanji san had said that this look was fool proof.

That's when she walked over to him, lifted the gelled hair off his face, messed it up a bit to make it look interesting and windswept. Then she took a water bottle out of her hand bag, Tsuki said that it was essential in case of emergencies like thirst in the middle of nowhere. This counted as an emergency. She wet a tissue and turned James' eyebrow back into something resembling his own.

"Eli chan?" he asked when he was sure she had finished.

She put the stuff away and looked at him. She nodded in self acknowledgement. "Much better." She said, an air of triumph colouring her aura. James raised an eyebrow.

"I'm dating Hamlet James, not a womanising student cook." She muttered, making him feel like his stomach was inflating in happiness. "Shall we?" he said, casually as he offered her his arm. "Oh, yes let's." she said, sounding for all the world like one of those characters from a C. children's novel.

Tsuki and Ace were looking around the shops, stopping here and there to look at books, clothes and some gimmick Tsuki had got hooked on. Ace didn't even try to understand a seventeen year old's passion for cartoons, be they this "anime" she kept going on about or Loony Tunes, but if it made her happy, he'd play along.

They stopped for lunch at half one, Tsuki ordering a salad, and only eating half of it, while he had the three course menu offer.

"Looks like I got me a cheap date." He said, winking at her over the top of his sirloin steak with chips.

"Cheap? You get me all this stuff and you call me cheap?"

"I mean, I don't have to pay for you to eat fancy all the time. The stuff's nothing, gifts from me." he gave her a look that penetrated her soul. This was the main reason she loved him, his eyes had taken her hostage the moment she had looked into them. But they didn't seem to be having the same effect right now. She could only guess why. His eyes were almost exactly like his little brothers.

They finished lunch and Tsuki decided she'd get Eli something. Right now, Eli was her only relative, and she was always there when Tsuki needed her.

"You think of her a lot, hey." Said Ace.

"Who?"

"Tziganu."

"What's this, jealousy?" she teased.

"No, unless you're suddenly going lesbian on me."

"Pfffffff, no worries."

"but she means a lot to you." Ace persisted. One thing to be made clear, Tsuki had decided against telling anyone about her relationship with Eli. It was too coincidental. Eli had no such qualms, but Tsuki didn't feel it appropriate. And since Eli barely talked to others anyway, at least until recently, the secret had been well hidden. But now the time had come to tell Ace, it felt right this time.

"Tziganu Eli is my cousin." She said.

"Pull the other one, precious."

"No I'm serious! She'd the daughter of the sister of that evil uncle you know so much about."

"hmmmmm, and?" Ace now sounded interested. He was actually really interested in Tsuki's uncle, that man had a psycho disorder.

"She was raised by…another family. And she peiced together her life from there."

Ace nodded, adopted children often became interested in their biological parents.

"Weird coincidence." Tsuki nodded.

They walked out of the shop, Tsuki clutching a tiny paper parcel with a semiprecious stone in it for Eli. Eli was into all this psychic stuff.

They came to a cross roads. Then suddenly a bunch of burly guys appeared opposite them. Tsuki looked at them scathingly, they wouldn't touch her if she was with Ace. She'd seen them before. They always lurked around here, but they were all scared stiff of Ace for some reason. What did she care, she was with the best guy in the world. As she thought this, the image of a beaming face beneath a strawhat. Not now! Don't think of that now!

The men opposite them suddenly changed stance, standing up straight and walking purposefully towards them. They circled them.

"Portgas D Ace!" yelled one of them. Ace nodded, fists curling.

Suddenly Tsuki felt herself pushed away from Ace and saw him hoisted off his feet by six muscular men. She saw him struggling like a fish out of water, saw him reach out his hand for her.

When he was out of her sight, she clasped a hand to her mouth, and the tears she had hidden from everyone spilled over the preheated eyelids.

Ace looked around the familiar gloomy room. A deep voice asked him a question, but he nodded absent mindedly. Was Tsuki alright? Hopefully she had gone back to the school. She'd be disappointed, it was only five in the afternoon. She wouldn't be angry with him, if he was lucky. He felt himself being lead out of the room and into another. Hopefully she wouldn't suffer.


	15. Chapter 15

Sunday Lunch

As usual, Tsuki and Eli slept in on Sunday morning. Sleeping in meant getting an extra hour of sleep. Then they got up and prepared themselves for their Sunday jobs. It was a rule that the orphans had to do something to help the community while they remained in it. It was only right that the community that fed them, gave them an education and kept them safe got something in return for their hardwork. The school was situated in a small town whose inhabitants always paid a small allowance every now and again to allow the kids to get the best they could. Being the only school in said town, a lot of the children around went there too.

The two girls walked out of the main entrance, said "later" and wandered off in different directions. Tsuki headed for the sport's centre, where she worked as a personal trainer, and Eli headed towards the bakery, her job being the cash register.

Today was crap. Tsuki, who usually enjoyed her job ordering people around, was distant and still upset about the previous day. Was Ace alright? Did he need her? What was she to do?

"One, two, three, four…" she counted monotonously, not really understanding what she was saying. The man in front of her was doing sit ups and she was supposed to be making sure he did them, but today she just couldn't concentrate. And lets be honest, can you blame her?

She hadnt spoken to Eli aabout last night, nor did she really want to. What do you tell an immature brat about kidnap? Especially, a brat that believes in fate. Tsuki rolled her eyes. The fact that Eli should choose to believe in a path where every choice you made affected the future was annoying, it meant that Eli took ages to actually decide anything. Then again, she had gotten better recently, thanks to Tsuki.

If Tsuki were to tell Eli, the girl would probably have gone on about it being Ace who had made a wrong decision, which Tsuki just couldn't handle right now. She thought of the angular face, with its charming smirk and it's cool hairstyle, and the funky orange hat Ace always wore. Except yesterday, of course. She wondered where he'd got to?

In a dark cellar, Ace was still wearing his clothes from last night. Only, today he was shirtless. His back was burning, and this stupid guy hadn't finished prodding him. Why him? Ok, he was good at what he did, but so what? The stinging, tickling sensation where the guy poked at his flesh was almost unbearable now. This is what a dog with fleas must feel, thought Ace, wishing that he was a dog so that he could scratch his back with his leg. But his arms were chained to the underside of the stolen surgical bed he was stuck to. Was this their idea of torture?

A man entered the room. He was taller than Ace, and his muscled arms looked like he'd been pumping iron for years now. He was wearing a basketball style tshirt, basically a kaki shirt with no arms, fading jeans and a bandana hiding his hair. His dark and sharp features proved his story of Egyptian origins. His dark eyes were large and almond shape, jet black hair hung in dreadlocks where it left the saftey of the badana. He smiled at Ace.

"Hi."

Ace growled. "Don't "Hi" me! This is all your fault!"

The figure looked stunned. "But, mate"

"No!" Ace interrupted. "I'm not your mate."

"Why?"

"Why do you think." Ace jerked his thumb at the red raw lump of flesh that was his back. "This is all because of you."

"that looks painfull."

Ace jumped up and pressed the man against the wall. "Listen Jason! I never wanted this! Your snitching did this, and you dare to call me mate?!" his words were vemon and he spat them from his mouth into the other man's, Jason's, face.

Jason shuddered in fear and resentment. It was true, want it?

"You, finished?" called Ace over his shoulder to the jerk behind him. Taking the silence, and the sudden ceassing in the aggravation in his back for a yes, he picked up his shirt and threw it on, casually, wincing as the light material touched the sensative skin. He was going to have to get used to that.

Shooting Jason a muderous glance, Ace left the cellar and went onto the high street. The sun was too bright right now, but Ace was never one to appear weak and try and find the nearest shade. Squinting slightly, allowing his eyes to adjust, he looked around the deserted street. Sunday today, thought Ace, that's why nobody's about.

No shops were open on Sundays, it was a family day. The only shop that had to stay open was the bakery, so that if people needed something to eat, then bread was available. Not a bad idea, cos it meant that any bread not sold by the end of the week was left to the beggars.

"Eli works there, doesn't she?" murmured Ace, thinking aloud. The bakery was the other side of the high street. "Do I go explain to Tsuki? She'd kill me, even if those buggers didn't." He looked at the gym, the only other thing that looked alive on this street. Some friends! Thought Ace, they just couldn't leave my personal day alone could they.

On the other side of town, Nami slinked in the shadows. She was lucky, Sunday was the time she could pretend to be working. She was lucky, in a sense, Arlong ran the local theme park, the most inconspicuous place for his group of hulking men. Let's just say the complete costumes made them look heaps better. Of course, her job was there, manning the till, and pickpocketing the stupid mother's. she was jealous, her foster mother could never afford to take her out, so she took her anger out on them. She never took anything much, just the odd fifty bill here and there. She couldn't take anything from the tills, Arlong kept a guy contantly at her back to make sure she didn't. Nami didn't mind, the guy who nearly always got the short straw was a guy called Hachi. Nami didn't mind him half as much as the other brutes that populated the amusement park. Hachi was an idiot, but he could be quite caring when he wanted to be, which was often, but if he got caught, he would revert to being mean so as to keep face. Nami couldn't help but not hate him.

Right this moment, she was doing a job for Arlong. No, not manning the tills, or serving hotdogs, another dejectory station she was often forced into. No, today Nami was being sent to do an extortion job. Nami both loved and hated these kinds of jobs. For one thing, the money she extorted on the spot would be taken off the sum she needed to pay the stupid git. She just hated the looks other people gave her for it.

She looked round the corner. Good the other branch werent there yet, now was her chance.

A word on the mafias around. It is noticeable that there are too many mafia gangs around. In fact, these are all branches of one huge underground organism. Gangs compete to try and rise higher and higher within the complex infrastructure. They call themselves branches, and the god father is unknown.

The Arlong branches greatest rival inhabited this sector, but the butcher's shop across the street from Nami's current position in the alley way owed money for the Arlong gang's protection from these same marauders, as well as themselves of course. It made her laugh just to think about it.

She stepped, catlike, out of the shadows. This was it, the time she'd planned so hard for.

"Oi, Nami."

Shit who now?

Nami whirled around, raising the quarterstaff to shoulder height. She immediately lowered it as she saw who it was. Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and James were walking down towards her. She lowered her weapon, no time to dissassemble the three sticks.

"Hey, be careful with that thing." Stammered Usopp. "why do you have it with you anyway?"

Nami thought up some story. This was a shit one, she'd come up with better. "oh hi! I was sent here to try and get more hotdogs for my job at the amusement park. Can't be too careful around here." she only prayed that someone wouldn't give her away.

But fate has a cruel sense of humour. Three men, big and burly walled around the corner at the end of the street, from the opposite side of where the boys were walking. The biggest started yelling and pointing. Shit! Nami walked the few paces that separated her from Luffy, clutched his arm, and steered him back down the alley way she'd just left. What would Arlong do now? Nothing, you'll go tomorrow instead, and add interest to the butchers.

She looked over her shoulder and saw the other three fall into step behind her, and the three brutes fall back at the mouth of the alley. They probably thought these four were new recruits, and that Arlong people would be waiting for them. Thank god for morons!

"What are you doing?" asked the head bedecked in the straw hat.

"Taking you to Sunday Lunch." God, fate really did have a bad sense of humour.

"Oh, I get it! Then we have to get Tsuki and Eli, they gotta eat too."

Nami ground her teeth. "Fine, hurry and get them."

When they had all assembled. Nami turned to find a cheap place. As she enetered, another familiar face came into view.

"Oh, NAMI SWAN!" yelled a hearteyed cook. Fate had a sadistic sense of humour.

"Sanji kun, would you do me a favour?" Nami asked sweetly, revealing a tiny bit too much of her chest. "These guys want Sunday lunch, could you give me an itty bitty discount?"

Sanji could only nod. His nose was leaking blood.

They sat themselves down at a table and ordered. They ate heartily. Except Tsuki who was still mourning Ace's disappearance. Lufffy didn't know, no one did. How could she tell them?

Then luffy had a bright idea.

"Sanji, will you join my mafia?"

"Say what, brat! I have to stay here." at that moment, the owner, Zeff, popped his head out of the kitchen.

"Hear that Sanji, that guy's offering you a life, not a dating website!"

"Shut up!"

"I'll be there too."

"Nami swan? Then I'll deffinately come!"

"Great."

"Hey I wasn't that serious, straw hatted bastard!"

"you don't love me?"

"of course I do!"

"Then come with me!"

"Right, I'm coming!"

And so Sanji, student cook joins our team!


	16. Chapter 16

**"Just another manic Tuesday."**

The alarm rang. It was not one of those intruding beeping things that sound like the small animal beeping at you has a sore throat, it was a song off any cd that was placed in the machine. The two girls often fought over who would choose which cd. Last night had been Tsuki's turn so some cliché love song would play. The Resurrection Shuffle blared out of the speaker.

"ELI! YOU CHEATED AGAIN!" yelled Tsuki, throughing her pillow across the room, hitting the giggling girl right in the face.

"Put your hand on your hips, you gotta let your back bone slip, put your tongue out and put your hand in the air, make a peace sign, you just don't care."

As soon as she heard the chorus, Eli stood up and, singing along, copied all the motions, with her own little twists here and there. Tsuki rolled her eyes. Eli and she often played tricks on each other, allowing the other to think that they're songs would come out, and wake up with the wrong song. It was funny, but Eli had now cheated a few too many times for it to be considered playful. She was seriously not allowing tsuki the chance to hear her own music.

"And just when I was looking foreward to "A Pair of Brown Eyes." Moaned Tsuki. Since ace had quote Rainy Night in Soho, he'd introduced her to more of the Pogues songs, and the one she loved most was a Pair of Brown Eyes. There was a line, "a roaving I'll go for a pair of brown eyes" that made her feel good every time she heard it. Jiko, her brother, had brown eyes, and it made her feel like she could make it if she kept this up. But what this actually was, she wasn't sure.

"You wont stop listening to that song!" said Eli. "it's depressing you. You need something cheerful once in a while."

"Not everyday of the week! That means until next Monday, it's my choice, or I'm nicking your pocket money. How much do you get from Robin again?"

Mentors gave their charges pocket money to allow the kids to feel a kind of responsibility. The sum itself depended on the mentor in question, but the range was between 15-30 a month. The kids didn't have much to spend it on, and since this town was fairly small and didn't have too many shops.

They walked down to the breakfast room at half eight, and ate they're own favourite first meal. Eli, two slices of toasted raisin bread and butter, Tsuki, Special K. they dressed in their uniforms, Tsuki changing hers for a tight fitting black long sleeved top, slightly v-necked and a pair of dark blue jeans. She always wore the crest as a badge on her tops, as did most of the girls, the guys didn't really care if the symbol was stamped across they're backs in that white plastic paint stuff.

They walked to the first lesson, English. They liked English, the teacher was really dynamic and made the subject interesting. Right now, the final year was studying Ibsen's "A Doll's House" and Tsuki could not help but want to punch Nora Helmer. They'd only just started, and as those who read or seen this play would know, Nora starts off as a selfish bitch.

"Wonder what Mr Clay will make that Nami whore do now." Muttered Tsuki. Mr Two Bon Clay was the English teacher, and he spent most of his time wheedling in a lot of drama. He hosted all the schools plays, which were mostly musical and starred a lot of ballerinas. He was odd, to say the least, and his dress sense was terrible. He insisted on wearing an Elizabethan style doublet and hose, so as to try and "engage with the most famous english playwrite in history". Over this he wore a dressing gown type coat, left open at all times, which was a vivid pink and had two swans heads curving their graceful necks in imitation of wings over his shoulders. His shoes were ballet slippers, as he would suddenly burst into dance anytime, anyplace and without warning. His face was a mask of overdone makeup, making him look ridiculous. The girls found him funny, as did all the other students.

"Good Morning!" he chimed as they entered the classroom. "How are my fantastic students today?" Eli was really good at English, and Tsuki was close on her tail. He winked one smothered eyelid at the two, who instantly beamed. Who could hate a guy like this?

They walked to their seats situated in the middle of the classroom. Eli liked to be near the blackboard, and Tsuki wanted to sit at the back, so they agreed to go halfway. Mr Clay jumped around the room, all students faces turned towards him, smiles widening across their faces.

He stood on tiptoe, pirouetting gently as he always did at the start of every lesson. As he turned to face the black board, he leaned back, leaning so far that his head touched the desk nearest him. He grinned, flashing his white teeth, which looked even brighter because of his lipstick.

"good Morning!" he sang.

"Good Morning, Bon chan!" the students sang back, no one was allowed to call him Mr Clay inside the classroom, only out of it.

"We got to the part where…" his words tailed off as a nervous head popped into the door. "Yes?"

"Robin sensei asks that Tenshi no Tsuki see the student counsellor." Stammered a frightened looking first year, who had obviously been picked out on the way to class.

Tsuki stood up immediately, and stalked out of the room without a backwards glance. Ace was here? Surely not, he'd been kidnapped. Then who was she being sent to? Some replacemet? But surely they couldn't have found one two days after the event. It was impossible, wasn't it?

She trod the familiar path across the courtyard and football pitch, past the students lounge area, and into the confessionals district. Here she made directly for it until the last second, then turned left towards a small building. old looking, It served as the school's "museum", as it was called. It was where the choice acheivements of the year groups were placed for the next year, when they would be replaced by the next generation. Ace insisted on having his office here, mainly because if he was bored, he could find something to look at.

Tsuki walked past the usual display of pottery and paintings and came to the door at the end of the hall, the one marked "Portgas D Ace, School Counsellor". She stopped just before the door frightened of what she might see. Or rather, what she would not see, ie Ace.

Get a grip! She told herself, Ace will be there! Struggling with her internal argument, Tsuki reached out a hand to knock…

No sound of rapping came from the door, however. It had been opened the moment Tsuki had reached out to knock.

"You kept me waiting!" said an annoyed voice from behind the door.

Tsuki simply stared. Standing right in front of her was Ace. At least, it looked like Ace, but he looked drawn and tired, as if he hadnt slept for days. And his eyes held a look of resentment and hatred, though it was clear that it was not directed at her.

"Ace?" tsuki whispered, afraid that if she said his name any louder, those eyes would turn on her next.

"You're alright? They didn't do anything to you?"

"No. Who?"

"Thank God!" his eyes lit up for an instant, then went dark again. "I need to talk to you. Come in."

She entered the familiar office, posters of rockbands were placed neatly around the walls, the desk was almost bare except for the computer, the chestnut brown couch by the window, the compulsory bookshelf and filing cabinet in the corners, the smell of coffee and biscuits.

Ace's office was minimally furnished. He was a counsellor, not a teacher, so he kept his notes on the problem pupils on his computer, the filing cabinet was just for show, according to Robin kids were more scared of a filing cabinet that a computer. The bookshelf kept magasines to get the kids comfortable and allowing Ace to ask the questions he wanted. The car magasines were the most prominent, but then, more boys cause trouble than girls.

Tsuki took her seat on the couch, just as she had done for the past couple of years. Ace sat behind his desk.

"What am I supposed to have done this time?" joked Tsuki, trying to get Ace to smile his cocky know-it-all grin. She could not, would not, show how worried she'd been for him up until now, nor could she show her relief. It just wasn't her way, it wasn't the way she'd been brought up.

"Tsuki, I need to talk to you about me, not you." Tsuki raised an eyebrow. This was the first time Ace needed to talk about himself, at least, exclusively. They'd talked a lot about themselves in proper conversations, but never as a necessity.

She just nodded, what could she do otherwise. He told her that it had been his friends that had taken him, which brought her relief and confusion. What kind of friends were they to abduct one of their own? If Eli had done that to her, she'd have punched her in the face without a second thought, until Eli probably started crying, and then she'd feel awful and say nothing.

"Tsuki, if you ever see an Egyptian looking guy calling himself Jason, run away."

"What?!" Tsuki was annoyed, surely he knew her better than that. She would fight him with all her might.

"Don't even try to fight him, he's not Zoro, he'll kill you."

Tsuki raised an eyebrow. Yeh, and her uncle hadnt tried to kill her? He'd only sent her cousins to try and kill her, brainwashing them to believe that she was dangerous and the person who'd massacred her town. They'd almost succeeded, had she not known most of the secret passages out of the city.

She felt the burning sensation of tears building up behind her eyelids. She blinked, biting her cheek. Don't think about it! Don't think about it! You'll have your revenge! Don't think about it! She shook her head.

When she brought her head back up, she saw that Ace was smiling. "Crying for me?"

"Tssss, who would?" she said, stubbornly.

"Humour me, I've had the weekend from hell!"

"Oh yeh, I suppose you couldn't sleep all night."

"I couldn't." and indeed he hadnt, his back couldn't bear the sensation of the heavy duvet, nor could he sleep on his sofa. Sleeping on his stomach was out of the question, it felt all wrong. Most people find they sleep in a particular position: on their back; on their side; on their front, but to sleep in any other of the positions just feels unnatural after that. Ace slept on his back, and that was all there was too it.

"And you're gonna tell me why?"

"I was worried about you."

"Why? What could possibly happen inside school? This school?"

Ace fingered the fabric of his Hawaian style tshirt. The material was light and comfortable and didn't irritate the still raw skin. He couldn't tell her why. He was a marked man, they'd do anything to get to him. Even get his girl, now they'd seen her.

"do you trust me?" he said, raising his head jerkily from where he'd been gazing intently at his fingers.

"Yes."

"Then don't fight Jason, or anyone else who calls themselves my friend. Keep away from them." Tsuki still looked scepticle. "Promise me."

Tsuki gulped, she was too honest to do something like this, normally, but she did it now. In her lap, her hands were folded, one on top of the other. On the lower hand she crossed her index and middle finger, therebye breaking any pledge she now made. "Alright Ace, I promise." And she felt her heart twist itself in a knot.

She looked at Ace, something was different. Not the bags under his eyes, nor his new palor, which made his freckles even cuter than usual. Then it struck her he was wearing a shirt. Ok, he'd been wearing one on Saturday, but that was just because it was their date. Today he was wearing a Hawaiian style thing, orange with large white flowers on it.

"Ace."

"Hmm?"

"Why are you wearing a shirt?"

"It's autumn babe, even I get cold."

"you've never worn one before, not to school."

"You gotta go with the flow, it's a fad I'll probably grow out of."

"I hope so, it drains you of your colour. You look like a vampire right now."

"And you don't like it?"

"Makes you look…"

"Incredibly sexy I thought."

Tsuki laughed, she couldn't help it. Ace always saw himself as the hottest thing since Vindaloo. In a way, he was right, though Tsuki would never admit to it out loud.

"I thought girls were all into vamps right now?"

"Count me out, only sops like Kaya would like Edward Cullen after that film. He's so angular I'd use him as a protractor to measure right angles."

Ace laughed, Tsuki's heartless wit could be incredibly funny. Especially when the guy's the latest teenage girl idol.

Ace stood up and walked to the couch, and sat down beside her. He hugged her, holding her preciously in his arms. He'd kill any bastard that tried to hurt her. He'd kill himself even. He leaned in to kiss her. His lips brushed hers.

"Ace kun." Robin stepped through the door. She stopped dead. "oh my god!"

"Robin san." Ace stood quickly, tipping back his hat, revealing his forehead.

"No wonder Eli called it a secret."

"What?"

"My counsellor's dating the counselled."

"Yeh, about that."

"I hope there's a decent explanation."

"Love?"

"I said decent."

"It's the only explanation I have."

"We'll talk about this matter later. Tenshi, leave us please, the bell went." Tsuki scarpered.

Robin stood there, arms folded across her chest. What was she going to do about this.

"Ace, this could be the end of your job."

"Robin san, it's only her, and it's love. I have no feelings for any other girl, and that's a promise."

She sighed, this was getting more and more like one of those hopeless sit coms or soap operas, since both are becoming more and more like each other; completely ridiculous. "I hope not Ace, because I'd get fired too. And believe me, you don't want that. They'd close the school for sure." Like they werent going to already. Robin was really angry, not at Ace but at the bastard and his stupid bloody letters. He'd pay. She'd make sure to Hell that he'd pay.

"What makes you say that."

"They just will. Anyway, I need to talk to you." And so she told him that she was getting letters ordering her cooperation with her resignation. "I thought you ought to know that this school might not be operating starting next month. I am suggesting that all staff aquire another job within this time period."

Some job I got, thanks a lot Jason. I didn't even want Ace bitterly. "Don't worry, Robin san, I'll sort myself out." I just hope it doesn't happen. I just hope I don't have too.

_(Dear Readers,_

_I hereby apologise for the insults to Rob Pattinson. He is a terrific actor and if anyone else has any comments, please do not write me a stinking comment on this slight insult. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and personally, I viewed Edward Cullen as being completely different, so I would like to say that the image was shattered. It is nothing personal, I though he was the perfect Cedric Diggory rather than Edward. Still sorry, Eli chan)_


	17. Chapter 17

**"And After that…"**

Club time. The bell had gone, Tsuki and Eli made their way to the gyms in silence. Tsuki had told Eli about getting caught, and Eli couldn't think of anything to say to lighten the mood. Come on, what do you say to someone who's boyfriend was kidnapped, by his friends, right under her very nose? The answer you should hopefully be thinking is "Not much…". Anyway, that's what Eli was thinking right now.

Today, they arrived just in time to see the swarms parting to go their separate ways, and Eli ran to join the martial arts group, Tsuki merely walked to follow the green hair.

A flash of orange caught her attention. Nami was smiling at her, she'd obviously not forgotten their deal. Tsuki rolled her eyes. She had so much to pay Nami back for, paying her back for flirting with her guy, then calling her and Eli a pair of witches, and then a double helping simply for being a bitch.

She followed Zoro and his flock, wooden nunchaku in hand. She thought of the metal one her father had given her for her sixteenth. It was a family heirloom, and it was lucky he'd given it to her then, otherwise it would have been lost in the smouldering remains of the town. She sighed, she wouldn't be able to use it till she mastered the flimsy looking wooden one. Still, as long as she could hit hard…

They entered gym hall 1, the hall for basket ball. The hoops were pushed against the walls, and a few mats, compulsory in all halls, littered the floors. Since his last lesson was in this same classroom, he always got the kids to sort it out along with replacing the basket balls.

She ran up to zoro as the others sat on their respective mats. Since he was a blood thirsty maniac, he'd probably let her have free reign, but he liked to be kept clued in, something that others didn't feel assured about. Anyway, Tsuki had the perfect reason.

"Oi, Zoro." She yelled, running up to him before he could move to the centre of the room, the part he gave speeches from.

He turned around to look at her. "What's the matter with you? Another fight? Did you get them good this time? If you didn't break their nose, I'm disappointed."

"No!" she hissed, annoyed. Why does everyone give me mixed messages: Can I fight people or cant I? "But I want to."

Zoro raised an eyebrow, a smirk spreading across his face. "Tell me all about it."

Tsuki opened her mouth, and whispered her plan to Zoro. "I want to fight Nami. She's been a thorn in my side for long enough. The best time and place, is here and now. Let me. You know you want to."

Zoro nodded, he deffinately wanted to. But there was the problem of Robin, how would she react when she learnt that he'd allowed a fight to break out? He shrugged, a weaponary club was for fighting. What was the problem?

"I need you to announce it first. Make it look like this is a practice duel." Tsuki had to make this look natural, otherwise everyone would know that this was her idea, and Robin would be on her back like a ton of bricks. Zoro nodded, but she wasn't reassured.

"Go find a mat, I'll sort out your…problem." He said, noticing the eyes of the other students, which had fixed themselves on him and Tsuki while they'd been talking.

"Sorry for the hold up!" Zoro boomed "I just was asked a question by my mentoree." Zoro never had a way with words, making them up on the spot was a daily occurrence. "this time, I've decided that there'll be fights." His eyes gleamed cruelly. "I'm gonna mix up the weapons at random, and there'll be duels, think of them as…performances." The gleam in his eyes was so pronounced, it made a ripple of fear spread throughout the class, and several people trembled. Tsuki was one of them, only her trembling came from anticipation.

"Warm up the way I showed you. Do the excercises required of your own personal weapon, and I'm going to arrange the duels." He turned to walk away. His speech had ended so suddenly, everyone was still sitting down in silence. He turned to look at them. "What are you waiting for, you fat-arsed idiots!" the group flinched as one, and immediately there were different kinds of shuffles as people stood, took up their stances, different weapons in hand. Knives of varying kinds, from simple daggers to curious looking kunai, sliced the air, whistling as their weilders stabbed and swung them into nothing. Nunchaku sang as the air was swung at, for what little good it did the weapons. Quarterstaffs were used to defend and attack at different moments. Of course, all this looked extremely stupid, and blushes were starting to form on self conscious cheeks. Yet they kept going, if they didn't they'd probably end up in gym detention. Trust me when I say that gym detention is a whole lot worse than any other. Unless you happen to like clearling out cupboards of sweaty gym material or having to wash those horrible flourescent team identification shirts(the ones that stink of decades of sweat) for an hour. Ok, it's stuff that needs doing, but no one wants to do it, right?

Tsuki's nunchaku whistled and sang as she twirled it dextrously between her fingers. Thank God she'd practiced, it would come to good use now. Now to see Nami's head surrounded by stars. Somehow she felt satisfied by the thought.

Zoro came back after a few minutes.

"Right, I've sorted it out. First up, Tenshi versus Theifssen. Followed by…" and the list went on and on. Zoro was incredibly unimaginative, all the duelists surnames started with the same letter.

Of course, everyone noticed, but who would risk zoro's wrath.

He finished the list, and yelled "Tenshi and Thiefssen, your places on the floor." He bowed ironically, pretending to be a director.

They stood there in the center of the room. They glared at each other, and took up their stances, which suddenly looked cool now that there was an opponant. Tsuki had her knees bent, and started twirling the nunchaku rather impressively.

Nami stood straight, balanced on her feet, which were slightly apart, quarterstaff in a straight diagonal line from her eye level to where it reached her thigh. They both grinned at each other. Then Nami's eyes widened in shock. It was at that moment, that nano second, that she realised that Tsuki really meant to harm her. Something about the look in her eyes.

Tsuki passed the nunchaku around and brought it to come crashing into Nami's side. Nami cried out in pain and alarm. Somehow, this was music to Tsuki's ears. She stopped the attack for a few seconds, allowing the opponant to stand: she'd been brought up not to attack a fallen opponant.

"Theifssen, if you want to give up, I wont stop you." Her tone said otherwise. It said "you will never live this down".

Nami stood. She was not about to give in, she'd agreed. But her legs wanted to take off and run. She stood, clutching her side. She raised the staff, her turn to attack. She raised it above her head, and sent it crashing down on top of tsuki's. Naturally, her opponant put the centre bar of the nunchaku up to block the clumsy looking blow. But Nami had had many an occasion to use the quarterstaff. What other weapon would she use? The rest weren't really feminine in the same way. As soon as Tsuki put up the nunchaku to block the attack, Nami quickly changed motion, sweeping the staff around to sweep at Tsuki's legs.

Tsuki jumped, trying to see the quarterstaff as a skipping rope. But she was too late. The quarterstaff whacked her calves, hard. Tsuki's knees buckled, but she refused to fall. Turning the knee buckling into an attack, she waited for Nami to think she had the upper hand, then swung the nunchaku around her knees. Not hitting her, but catching the second handle, she yanked upwards, forcing Nami to land flat on her back. However, Nami had a few aces up her sleeves, no matter how short these were. Let's just say they showed as much of her arm as her neckline showed of her chest.

Tsuki was sure of victory this time, she was smirking down at Nami, the girls legs were struggling uselessly against the nunchaku's grip.

"Give up Theifssen."

Then Nami grinned. Quick as she could, she brought the quarterstaff up and hit Tsuki in the face with it. Or she would have done, if Tsuki had not seen her intention in her eyes and dodged within seconds. The quarterstaff whistled past her head, ruffling her hair as it went, her fring flying. That was a close one.

On the other side of the room, Zoro watched with a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes. The other students shifted uncomfortably as they watched the tottaly serious battle. Would they kill each other? Would Zoro intervene? The answer to the second question was probably "No", Zoro was enjoying this, waiting for blood to stain the floor.

The girls struggled with each other, though it was obvious to all that Tsuki was winning. Already, Nami's ribs were turning a nasty blue, and the skin around her knees was red raw where Tsuki's nunchaku had kept them trapped. Now she was standing, Tsuki had released her, wanting to fight properly, feeling a couple of splinters in the backs of her knees stinging. Why was she doing this? She didn't want to fight her, not Tsuki, this was the wrong person.

Tsuki's calves were also blue, but she was not prepared to give into the pain. On the contrary, she was biting her cheek so hard it was bleeding, but it took her mind off the pain in her legs and the disgusting taste forced her to concentrate on her opponant. Tell me you've had enough, bitch. Then I'll crow from the rooftops for a week!

Sitting beside Zoro, Vivi sat, her pretty little sicle like yoyo's, a very unique weapon, was being twisted in between her fingers. She'd probably bite her lip to oblivion if she had to watch this any longer. She looked at Zoro, begging him to stop them, mentally of course.

A scream drew her attention away from Zoro. Nami had just collapsed on the floor, clutching her arm. It was bleeding. The thin wire that connected the wooden nunchaku's parts together had sliced into her arm, cutting the short sleeve, revealing a hint of blue ink. Tsuki was standing, a splinter in her cheek, grinning like a being possessed.

"Well, Theifssen? Shall we continue?"

"All right, I give in!" yelled Nami, tears pouring down her face. To anyone who didn't know, they would look like tears of pain, but in fact there were tears of aprehension mixed in with them. No one can see it. Must hide it.

"End of match! Tenshi wins!" called Zoro, smirking. "Theifssen get yourself to the nurse."

Nami nodded, and ran to find Kureha, who was the school nurse as well. She charged a fortune but was good at what she did.

Tsuki's face was glowing in triumph. Take that Bitch.

Vivi stared at Tsuki's expression. That girl has issues! She thought.

Vivi had been in this school longer than most, she had learned to view people and judge them by their appearances, though she always reserved the final decision for later use. Up until now, she had always seen Tsuki as a decent person, maybe not the person to try to wangle onto your side unless you had a strong argument. But right now, Vivi saw a misunderstood creature, and she didn't understand it either. What did Tsuki achieve out of something like this? What was this all about.

After the next few duels had taken place, Vivi walked up to Tsuki and tapped her on the shoulder. Tsuki whirled around, nunchaku raised. Obviously she'd been thinking about something that had nothing to do with the club.

"Tenshi san." Said an alarmed Vivi. Tsuki lowered her weapon.

"Sorry. I was miles away. Did you want something?"

Vivi had thought long and hard about this. Her pacifist nature didn't want to do it, yet her self defense side ordered that she must.

"Tenshi san, what you did to Nami was wrong."

Tsuki snorted, of course little blue haired bimbo would understand nothing.

"Tenshi san?"

"if you want to talk about that kinda thing, try finding out the back story before you start telling someone what they've done is wrong."

"But Tenshi…"

"Shut up vivi!" the girl in question started, Tsuki hadnt even used a suffix. "When you've lived in my place for seventeen years, then tell me whether or not what I did was wrong."

Vivi's hands curled around the sicle yoyos. She felt tears rising. "I'm sorry. You're right." Though maybe you should try mine before you start telling me that you've had it rough!

"Thank you." God I hate people who think they can save the world with empty words.

Tsuki stormed off out of the gym hall. Who cared if Vivi had meant well or not. She was Nami's friend, she had no idea of the bitch she hang out with, or if she did, then it was worse that they stayed together as friends. Yet what she said haunted Tsuki's mind and was to continue haunting it for the rest of the evening.

As she left, both she and Vivi had the same thought: You wouldn't, couldn't, could NEVER understand.


	18. Chapter 18

Nico Robin Hood?

Robin poured over the mounds of letters. She'd taken them all out and left them on her desk. She sat there counting them. Already the total was nearing the hundred mark and she hadnt even gotten halfway. And now they'd found her email. She'd tried so hard to keep it as secret as possible, but it had somehow leaked.

She sighed, standing up at the desk. This wasn't working out. She looked at the marble fire place she'd asked for. It was more of a decoration than anything, but she'd always loved the idea of a grand fireplace. Now would be the perfect time to use it.

Removing the ornamental urns and pottery work that usually adorned the interior, she shoved in the mound of letters. She already knew they were coming on the fifth. Today was the twenty ninth. A week. No where near enough time to prevent anything. She didn't even know the terms of her arrest.

There was a knock at the door. Franky entered the room and sat down, watching her. She'd just managed to put all the letters in the grate. He offered her a match. She smiled, took it and the letters went up in flames. It was oddly satisfying.

"Better put some wood on that or people will get super curious." Said the librarian.

"I suppose you're right, Franky."

"Who were they from, some secret admirer?"

"I wish."

"It's not one of the students again? Seriously, having a crush on your teacher is kind of weird and unnatural."

"No, it's not one of the pupils."

"You said pupils, not students." He pointed out. "it's that pervert, Van der Keuken Sanji again isnt it? That idiot."

"No, for once these arent love letters."

"Then who?"

"I…." she fell silent.

"It's not…_him_ is it?"

"Yes it is."

"Zoro? Well at least the feelings are out on the table."

"What? How did we get onto that topic? What makes you think that?"

"Well, if it's not a pupil and it's not sanji, then they have to be letters from a teacher, and you might've admitted they arent love letters to throw me off the scent..."

"Franky, you're delving too deep into a possible soap opera structure."

"Sorry, guess I watched the omnibus of EastEnders too passionately yesterday."

"I can't think of anything more boring to watch, Franky."

"Hey, yesterday someone was getting blackmailed…" He stopped. "Oh God. It's never blackmail, is it? That bastard Crocodile didn't escape did he?"

"Not even. But you're finally along the right track."

"So it's him!" Franky looked grim, you couldn't see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but you could tell he was deadly serious. "Does he want me too, or is it just you this time?"

"He doesn't specify."

"So we could all be screwed. No wonder you told everyone else to get new jobs sharpish." He grinned. "But you didn't tell me?"

"I rather hoped he wouldn't be after you too, but you can never tell with that man."

"Too true."

They were silent, watching the flames curl around the letters. Normally Robin just threw them in the recycle bin and had a long chat with the person in question. That is, if they had been love letters. The cleaner would be very upset to find she had to clean the grate in the morning. Why am I thinking about this? Robin asked herself.

"So, what do we do?" asked Franky. "If that idiot's after us again, he's gonna close the school. Where do we go?"

"Prison seems to be his train of thought."

"Are you seriously gonna go quietly? What happened to Robin Hood?"

"I never called myself Robin Hood to my recollection."

"Yeh, true. But still, what happened to the most feared woman of this country's underworld?"

"She found that drugs were not the way to get money."

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I meant what happened to the woman who spat in the eye of the law? The woman who'd do anything for a friend? What happened to the free soul?"

"She learned to enjoy her cage."

"Well screw that!" Franky stood up. "I'm sorry Robin. But if you're just gonna admit defeat because of some bureaucratic wimp, then I'm not gonna support you. I'm not going without a fight!"

She smiled, the description of her tormentor was surprisingly accurate. Why was she submitting to a bureaucratic wimp? "You know what, you're right."

"I know I am. Ah well, see you Robin."

"See you Franky. Thanks for being my voice of reason."

Franky left the room. As he left, he saw Robin smirking defiantly at the smoldering letters. Good, maybe now she'll come to her senses.

Robin heard Franky leaving. She smiled. Then she stood, walked over to her stereo and played "This is the Life".

"Where you gonna go, where you gonna sleep tonight?" she sang along, walking to her wardrobe. It'd been ages since she'd listened to this song, since she'd worn these clothes. She needed to return to herself. She'd been denying this for years, now was the time.

She changed, and went to look at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a pair of purple shorts and a bodice of the same colour. She then placed her hat on her head. She looked dangerous and sexy.

"god, where did you go?" she asked her reflection. She smiled and truly felt like the Nico Robin of four years ago. That's when the door opened.

"Robin…" Zoro's voice trailed off as he caught sight of the headmistress. To be honest, anyone would be like that if they'd seen their boss dressed in purple shorts and purple bodice and wearing a cowboy hat.

"Zoro kun?" She turned to look at him. Then she remembered Franky's comment. "at least the feelings are out on the table." What did he mean? looking into Zoro's eyes right then, Robin thought she knew and understood.

He looked aside, blushing furiously. "Might I ask why the headmistress is dressed inappropriately?"

"I shant answer." His blush intrigued her. Did that mean that the strange feeling she'd have ever since the end of last school year were about to be returned or was he just being modest?

Zoro's eyes kept flicking back and forth, first towards the woman in front of him, then to the bookcase beside him. Was she trying to seduce him or something?

"Sorry, Zoro kun, I…" what kind of reason do you give for wearing the clothes you wore years ago? "Never mind that." There is no decent excuse. "What did you come to see me about?"

"Uhhhh." He'd been so distracted that he'd temprorarily forgotten. "Reporting on the success of the weaponary club."

"And?"

"The students are showing a fantastic…aptitude for…their chosen…weapons and…fighting techniques…" he kept being distracted, and he was having difficulty breathing properly. Jeez, I never breath like this even after running a marathon. What's wrong with me?

"Oh, and?"

"Tziganu's proving a problem."

"Oh?"

"she has developped…her own technique. Sanji doesn't know what to do with her."

"I see. Do have a seat, Zoro kun."

He sat, still trying not to appear surprised at his boss's clothing. She smiled. He was still as shy as he'd been at sixteen.

"Is it useful?"

"No."

"Why?"

"She fights with killing intent, stopping only once she's about to tear their throats open."

"Aha." This was worrying. "But she stops?"

"After having traumatised half the class." She nodded.

"No one will fight with her. So Sanji finds himself as her permanent partner."

"Really, absolutely no one?"

"There is that midget."

"Which midget?"

"Kureha's apprentice."

"Tony Tony Chopper?"

"Yeh him."

"He fights her?"

"He stopped. she doesn't give up till he's practically dead. Sanji's hiding his left eye more than ever now."

"Why?"

"Cos it's a lovely purple. Not attracting any girls with it, the pedo." He smirked.

"I thought she attacked in a bestial manner."

"She stepped on his eye in one of her attempts to make her leap a kick."

"Ouch."

"Ouch indeed."

Robin shook her head. That girl was the source of a lot of problems. How many times had the shrinks tried to take her away from the school for testing? It took all of Robin's energy to keep them at bay.

"Will you tell me what's wrong with that kid?"

Robin looked up at Zoro. "Do you really care?" She asked.

"Not really. Just interested."

"Arent they all. All her teachers, the shrinks, the government."

"The government?"

"They keep trying to lock her up in a padded cell."

"And you stop them?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I don't feel that padded cells are the way to make anyone respond. People react to kindness, not permanent testing."

Zoro stopped his questioning, this subject obviously meant a lot to Robin.

"I agree."

"You do?"

"Yeh. You can't get a stray dog to like you if you just test it. it needs a good owner."

If only you knew the half of it, Zoro. You're words are almost scarily accurate.

Robin put her face in her hands. For the first time since the age of eight, she started crying, the stress of everything she'd kept a secret piling up against her eyelids and spilling over.

"Hey!" Zoro sounded alarmed. He stood up and walked up to where she was sitting in one of the numerous purple armchairs. He shifted her up a bit, and sat on the arm, placing one of his around her shoulders. She looked up at him, tears streaking down her cheeks. He started, he'd never seen this woman of steel crying. For some reason she seemed less perfect, and more human. He liked it.

They looked into each other's eyes for a few minutes, neither sure what to do, or what the meaning and results of this moment were. They just looked. Then Zoro bent down, still looking at her. Hesitatntly, unsure of himself for the first time, he planted a kiss on the woman's lips. He leaned back, a strange look on his face.

They sat there for five seconds, both shocked at what had just happened. Then Zoro stood up. "Sorry. I didn't know what I was doing." He didn't even look at her. He started to walk towards the door.

"Wait Zoro."

He stopped. she hadnt used a suffix? He heard her footsteps from behind. Then her arms wrapped themselves round his torso and he felt her head fall against his shoulderblade. He undid the hands that were holding him.

"Oh?" She sounded hurt.

He turned to look at her. She was staring at him with wide eyes. He bent down and hugged her properly, facing her. He kissed her passionately. When they eventually broke apart, he said.

"I've wanted to do that for ages!"

She smiled. "I think I have too."

(Dear Readers, Van der Keuken sanji's surname comes from my limited knowledge of Dutch, meaning of the kitchen. Hopefully someone can correct it, and if anyone's got anything to say about the location, I'm trying to keep it open to imagination XD.)


	19. Chapter 19

"All right on the Night"

Eli sat in class. Well, rather, she was slumped on the desk, chin resting on folded arms. She stared at the board, not taking in a thing of what the maths teacher was saying. Something about the "normal to the plane of intersection to sphere one is the diameter of the sphere" or some such thing.

The board itself was a state of the art SMART board. One of the newest teaching aids, it was a touch sensitive projection of the computer screen. So Eli was paying more attention to the little clock in the bottom left hand corner as opposed to the notes on spheres and planes. Maths last lesson does that to you.

Why did I take the harder maths class? She asked herself. Because you didn't have enough hours otherwise, plus you know you can do this stuff. Just cos this idiot tells you you can't doesn't mean he's right.

She'd been telling herself that from the start, but still, right now, she wondered if she really was the lunatic Tsuki said she was. Tsuki hated maths with a vengeance, and so had taken the easier course. That left Eli alone. At least it left her alone up until now.

"Oi, you should pay attention if you want to pass."

"Shuddup." She groaned, sitting up and looking at the person next to her. He'd moved from the other side of the classroom to sit beside her.

"Why did you bother with maths if you're not gonna pay attention?"

"Umm, maybe cos I need to gettit before I decide I want to pay attention. This guy just pulls out random numbers from nowhere and expects us to follow."

The boy beside her pouted. He enjoyed maths, and understood what the teacher went on about, but he could see her point. He sighed, he'd come to sit by her from his seat at the other side of the room mainly because neither of his own friends were in this class, Luffy having taken the simpler option, and Chopper being two years below.

"If you needed help, you could've just asked, you know."

Eli looked at him. "who'd help me? Him?" she nodded at the teacher. "he hates my guts."

"I meant you could ask me."

"Oh. Would you?" her eyes lit up; if he helped her, she'd be sure to pass, bringing her average up a mile.

He stuttered, rather taken aback by the sudden change in expression. "of course, you can depend upon the great Usopp sama."

"You two by the window, stop talking when I'm explaining!" yelled the teacher. "I preferred it when you were on your own, Tziganu."

"of course it's my fault" hissed Eli through her teeth.

"Sorry, sir, I was just explaining." Usopp apologised.

The teacher made a disgruntled huffing sound and turned to the board.

Eli turned to look at him, eyebrows raised in an "I rest my case" look.

"That proves nothing." whispered usopp.

"what do you think would've happened if I'd said that?" she answered her own question before he could even utter a sound ""Tziganu, stop making excuses, you're a bad influence on…" what's your surname?"

"Sogeking."

"No it's not!"

Usopp looked aside, being a compulsive liar was tough. "How do you know that it isnt?"

"Cos it'd be on the register, maybe?" she let the subject drop, if he didn't want to tell her, she wasn't going to go on about something as stupid as a made up surname.

"turn to page 153 in you're books and do excersice 16.5" said the teacher.

Sighing, Eli pulled her text book towards her and started flipping through the pages till she found the exercise. The bright white of the pages and the boldness of the font seered her retina, the glare from the lights and the lack of sleep made it almost unbearable to even read the questions, let alone answer them. Beside her, Usopp was looking at the questions, nodding at each one he understood.

"Right." Picking up his pen, he opened his notebook and started scribbling his answers. Eli just stared at him, then turned to her own paper. She started the first question, got about halfway through it, then it turned to gobbledegook. She shot usopp a glance, he was already halfway through question three. Damn it, she wasn't going to get anywhere. She turned back to her paper. Then looked at him again, then back at her paper.

When he eventually became conscious of the glances she was throwing him, Usopp stopped.

"stuck already?" he asked.

"sorta. I don't get what to do next."

"It's easy, look." And he showed her. Eli grinned, this was making much more sense.

"Thanks."

"S'ok."

"Do you mind if I ask you for help again?"

"Ask as much as you like, just don't keep bothering me perpetually."

"Sure." She smiled, things were looking up. If she passed maths, she'd deffinately make it somewhere, somehow.

Meanwhile, in the other maths classroom, Tsuki found herself stuck next to Ace's younger brother.

"I don't gettit!" he moaned for what felt like the millionth time that lesson.

"You don't say." Tsuki rolled her eyes, this idiot had been pestering her all lesson to help him out. She had helped him gladly, but he wasn't making any effort, so in the end she was basically answering the questions twice. It was starting to annoy her.

"Tsuki, hellllllllp!"

"No!"

"Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!"

"Cos you answer it the same way you answer the rest!" she glanced at the smart board clock. Fifteen minutes left. She looked back at her paper, answering questions while trying to ignore this idiot. She looked up again, only three minutes had past. The clock must've been broken. Either that or some deity had decided to plot against her and make her suffer at the hands of this whinging pain beside her. The minute digit changed with painstaking slowness.

"MISSSSSSSSS I DON'T GETTIT!" yelled Luffy, waving his hand energetically through the air.

The teacher made her way towards them, down the aisle of desks. She shot Tsuki a sympathetic look. "has he been annoying you the entire lesson, Tenshi?"

"More or less."

"what seems to be the problem, Monkey?"

"I don't get anything!"

The teachers face literally screamed the words "surprise me", but what she said was "really? Lets try and rectify that." He grinned at her.

Tsuki tried to concentrate on her own questions, but ended up listening in on the explanation, learning a few shortcuts and tricks never hurt.

She looked up at the clock again. God time was in on some plot against her! Five minutes left. They seemed to stretch like those corridors in horror movies, the ones that just stretch and you never reach the end.

Eventually the bell wailed at them through the classrooms walls, penetrating their heads with it's sonorous shrieking. The students gathered up their books and started chatting animatedly. Another long day gone!

Tsuki left the classroom. Eli was waiting for her as usual. The two maths classrooms were situated on opposites sides of the corridor. Tsuki blinked. Eli wasn't alone. She was talking with the long nosed guy, Usopp. What was she up to?

"really? How can anyone believe that one?" she said as Tsuki got out of the door.

"It's true!"

"What's true?" Tsuki asked. The boy looked up at Tsuki aprehensivley.

"Nothing, Tsuki nee. Usopp kun was just trying to get me to believe that Kaya's a princess or something."

"Shhhh! She might hear you!"

" so it isnt true?"

"it is!"

"then why shouldn't she hear?"

"Cos she doesn't want anyone to know!"

"Why're you debating with a pathological liar, Eli? Let's go, we don't want to be late."

"True. See you Usopp, thanks for the help."

"No worries. If you need help again, just ask me."

"Thanks!"

"Lets go, El."

"Coming. See ya Usopp kun."

She waved as she turned to catch up to Tsuki who'd gone off with her last comment.

"God El."

"What?"

"What're you playing at?"

"You tell me, I have no idea what you're on about."

"Flirting with that guy? What will Hamlet kun think?"

"What flirting?"

"Awww, sweet."

"What are you on about?" Eli was blushing. She hadnt been flirting, but the fact that Tsuki could even think that she had was enough to make her blush.

"Look, one guy's enough trouble, you don't need two."

"Shuddup!"

Tsuki giggled and they walked in silence for a while, till they arrived at the art department. They pushed open the door to find students sitting around, on chairs, on desks, some even on the floor.

"Right quiet!" yelled Nojiko from behind the teachers desk. Silence fell immediately. "Welcome drama group!"

"Hey Theifssen san."

"Right as you all know, Christmas is coming up, so it's time for us to prepare the panto."

A mixture of cheers and groans filled the room. Then the door opened and three people stepped in. they were Luffy, Usopp and Chopper. Eli smiled while Tsuki ground her teeth.

"Gentlemen?"

"Can we join in?" asked Luffy, direct as ever. "looks like fun!"

"grab a seat gentlemen, we're discussing this years Christmas panto."

"Panto?"

"A Christmas play for children."

"Cool!" Luffy sat down on the floor, staring interested, with Usopp and Chopper following suit.

"This year we're doing a compilation of Perrault's original fairytales. Not all of them, but the most well known. Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Blue Beard and Puss in Boots. We're mixing up the tales. Should be fun, right?"

Shouts of affirmatives came from all directions.

"Right, here's the scripts, and your parts are marked out. I'm missing three though. They are Anne from Blue Beard, Puss from Puss in Boots, and Day from Sleeping Beauty. You three wanna do them?"

"YEH!" yelled Luffy.

"if it's ok." Said Chopper, blushing meekly.

"Great." Said Nojiko. "We'll have our panto dame."

"the what?"

"Panto dame, the man who dresses as a woman. It's traditional."

Usopp and Chopper immediately shook their heads, there was no way they'd do it. Then Luffy laughed. "That's funny!"

"Will you do it?"

"Fine."

"Sorted, you'll play Anne."

"What about us?" asked Chopper.

"Who's Day? I don't remember a person called Day in Sleeping Beauty."

"He appears in the original, the original continues after Beauty's woken up, she has two kids. Day's the son."

"That's you!" said Usopp, already deciding he'd play puss. At least he knew what he had to do for that role.

"Hey!? Don't decide for me!"

"You'd be good at it. " his senpai added.

Chopper went quiet. "You think so?"

"Know so."

"Just cos you say that, that doesn't mean I'm happy!" said a beaming Chopper.

"Then I'd sue my face for slander if I was you." Muttered Usopp, still he was happy he had his way.

"Right guys, check over your parts."

Eli was given the part of Blue Beard's wife and Tsuki was going to play Cinderella. Nami, who was forced into this by her older sister got the part of Sleeping Beauty. She leered.

"I'm a princess."

"Yeh, the only princess with only one line of dialogue." Eli whispered to Tsuki, who grinned, checked the script and chuckled, satisfied. "At least her annoying voice wont be heard too much. Shame she'll be kissed."

"Not even, the originals have the prince taking her hand and talking to her for a few minutes and she just wakes up."

"How do you know that?"

"Cos I read this script."

"Touchee. Fantastic, Nami's the worst main character to be! Talk about poetic justice."

"couldn't agree more. Shame Chopper's playing her son."

"Don't talk to me about that trio, their leader got on my whick today."

"Ouh, poor him!" if you got on Tsuki's whick, you could end up in a bad way.

At that moment Nami walked up to the two, leering at them. "What are your parts?" she asked sweetly.

"Blue Beard's wife."

"Cinderella."

Nami's face fell, but she composed herself. "Great we're all important characters!"

At that moment, Eli really wanted to quote a song at Nami: "I can tell what you think by the look on your face, the look on your face is so mean!"

"Yeh, it's great right?"

"Don't mess up!" called Nami heading over to Nojiko, no doubt to complain about the fact that the two people she liked least had major roles.

"That bitch!" hissed Tsuki.

"Theifssen san wont change our roles though." Said Eli.

"I know, but still she has some nerve!"

"Yeh, but it'll be all right on the night, you'll see. She wont say anything but "are you my prince" and then we have free reign."

"Point. Lets read these scripts." And so they did.


	20. Chapter 20

A Boys best friend is his mother

Another field flashed past Usopp's window, followed by another, then another. He hated this journey. He hated everything about it, from the train ride to the destination to what awaited him at his destination.

As usual, they'd called him, and as usual, he'd panicked and taken the first train over. Using inductive knowledge, he knew that later today, he'd be taking the train home, relieved and a bit fed up with having wasted his time.

Ever since he was a kid and his dad had left them, Usopp's mother had suffered greatly. The old woman of their tenant village had said that she was dying from heartbreak. The doctors of the nearest town called it leukemia. She'd been suffering from it for the past 13 years. Every so often, the doctor's at the hospital would ring up her son and tell him that she was getting worse and that they weren't sure how much longer she had left. Every time he rushed off and every time, she'd be ok…ish. She was never completely ok, but she wouldn't be in fatal danger. So he'd end up spending the day with her and then he'd return to the school.

He hadn't told a soul about this. He didn't feel able too. School life is hard enough without people treading on eggshells around you. Still, he tried to keep it a secret from everyone, including his friends. He understood that if you tell one person, sooner or later everyone else knew. As well as that, Luffy was not an easy person to talk to about family issues. Or rather, you couldn't talk to Luffy about any issue. Chopper and James were, but he didn't need their pity, not really. He didn't want it. He still felt intimidated by Tsuki, but he was toying with the idea of telling Eli. She was calm, kind and open, hopefully she'd keep everything to herself. The burden of this great secret had weighed down on him for so long that he felt that he'd better tell someone sooner or later.

He sighed. The lie of his mother's death always made him feel guilty. In primary school, he'd been pestered about his parents till he just said it. And after that, everyone left him alone. By secondary school, he'd used the same lie and had immediately been adopted by Luffy as a sort of second brother. Sometimes, and this made him feel terrible, but sometimes he wished his mother would die and put them all out of their misery, especially herself.

He wished it now, sitting there staring out of the window. Then he scolded himself, feeling like the worst son in the world. He checked the map on the opposite side of the carriage, he had ages to go, might as well go get a sandwich.

Though he didn't know it, there was another person he knew on the same train. Tsuki was sitting a few carriages behind, trying and failing to read her magazine. She was off to the same hospital. Once again Fate shows his cruel sense of humour.

With a huffing sigh, Tsuki put aside the magazine. She couldn't believe it. The reason she was on the train, the reason she was going anywhere at all was to confirm a…a what? She'd been telephoned by the social services saying that a hospital up north had found five people, one in a coma the rest with amnesia. She'd been asked to identify them. She hadn't been given a reason, just the order to go up there and check. She ground her teeth. What was she supposed to check? And why her anyway?

She stood, there was no point in wondering about it, she might as well go get a coke and try and finish the magazine.

She walked to the food carriage, this train only having stops every half hour since it was an "across the land" train it actually had a food carriage, and walked up to the bar.

Usopp was sitting a bit further down, chatting aimlessly to Ed the barman. Usopp had taken this train so many times that Ed had become a friend.

"Again?" asked the barman, his elbows resting on the wooden surface. Usopp nodded. The man groaned, not really knowing what to say. He handed the boy a bag of crisps noticing Tsuki out of the corner of his eye, he nodded at her, gave Usopp the crisps saying "on the house" and looked at her.

Having paid no attention to anything but her thoughts, Tsuki jerked her head up as Ed addressed her. "A coke and a packet of salted peanuts please."

"Coming right up pretty lady" Ed turned to fetch the demanded goods and Usopp's head spun as fast as a jumping minnow from where it had been staring at the bubbles in his sparkling water to look at the owner of the familiar voice.

"You!" he yelled.

Tsuki looked back at him. "What're you doing here, chicken?"

She always called him chicken, mainly because she had remarked that he didn't really fight for himself.

"What am _I _doing here?"

"Is the question that ridiculous or something? What are you doing on this train?"

"You first."

"What?"

"You tell me why you're on this train." Tsuki blinked, when did this guy start arguing with her?

"I don't really know, I'm off to the hospital in some town."

"Which stop?"

"Three stops from her. Why is it important?"

Usopp tried to stop any form of surprise or fear from entering his face. However, his eyes widened ever so slightly. "Why there?"

"That's none of your business. Now why're you on this train?" Tsuki looked at him, a hand on her hip and an eyebrow raised. "If you lie, you'll get hurt."

"No fair, I can't help lying! It's compulsive."

"I don't care, you're gonna tell me the truth or I'll find you with my nunchaku."

"Oi oi, that's blackmail!"

"Watcha gonna do about it, chicken?"

Ed looked from one to the other.

"Girlfriend, Usopp?"

"Classmate." He replied, not taking his a-bit-too-wide eyes away from Tsuki's face.

"I'll leave you two chatting, there's someone else waiting for a drink. See you later maybe, Usopp."

"Yeh." Said Usopp, unthinkingly.

"First name terms with the barman? You take this train often then."

"What are you, a spy or something?"

"Just observant. So go on, spill."

He sighed, already trying to avoid the nunchaku in his mind. "I'm going to the hospital. A relative is sick and needs me. HEY!" tsuki had just punched his arm. "What was that for!?"

"Lying."

"S'not a lie!"

"Prove…ahhh I give up. You're a lost cause." She sat down, hoping that he might just tell her, her curiousity buzzing. However, just as adamant as she was to have him tell her, he was resolving to tell her nothing.

They sat there in the dining car having broken conversations. Tsuki noticed that every so often, the boy sitting beside her would check his watch, becoming more and more agitated as the train wove its way slowly through the fields.

They arrived at a tiny platform, the afternoon turning slowly into dusk behind them.

"Right, well I'm off to the hospital."

"Oh?" Tsuki raised an eyebrow.

"I told you it wasn't a lie." Usopp shrugged, turning in the hospitals general direction. Tsuki followed him; she had no idea where to go, so it seemed the best idea.

The receptionist looked up at them from her seat at the counter.

"Ah yes Mr. Archer, you know the room." She waved away Usopp, who walked down the corridor.

"Wait up!" Tsuki called behind him. She caught up with him.

"What?"

"I'm interested. After this we can go find who I'm sposed to be identifying."

He nodded and walked on again, there was no point in trying to shake her off. He turned down several corridors, through a few of those clinically coloured double doors and past the refectory.

"What, do you know this place like the back of your hand or something?"

"More or less, I've been coming here since I was five."

"What?!"

"Long story, and I don't have time." Said Usopp. The first time he'd come here, he'd cried. That was how he got friendly with Ed, who'd tried to get him to stop. As the years went by, he'd stopped crying, but he'd never stopped feeling the roiling emotions of guilt, pity and sadness every time he bought the train ticket or walked purposefully down these corridors.

He felt it now as he rounded the corridor to his mother's room. Something was wrong this time though.

Doctors were milling around the room, some yelling instructions, others telling them to give up. Broken sentences were filling the air, things like:

"Can't give…"

"She's done…"

"There's no…"

"Leave her go, she…."

Usopp's eyes widen. Forgetting his glacial composure, he ran at the mass of nurses, bursting into the room.

"Ocaasan!" he yelled, over and over, shoving away uniformed figures, their faces blurred by tears forming in his eyes.

He shoved his way into the room, seeing the sleeping figure just as the emergency beeping machine that counted her heart rate every time he came to visit her flatlined.

When Tsuki eventually managed to slip into the room she found him there, sobbing, clutching the hand of his dead mother and calling to her incessantly.


	21. Chapter 21

Survivors?

Tsuki sat outside the room the nurse had taken her to. She was taking deep breaths, not knowing what awaited her on the other side of the door. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. Why her!

"Miss Tenshi, we really need you to tell us who these people are."

"Why me? surely there's someone else."

"No, that's the problem."

Tsuki stared at the sweet looking nurse. She was short, slim, with large brown eyes and dark brown hair. She looked a bit like a baby deer.

"Please? This is really important for the police. We really need someone who can sort out this mess."

There was no way out, Tsuki knew. She sighed and nodded. Bracing herself she faced the door and pushed it gently.

Tsuki never did like hospitals. They were too clean. No comforting mess in a corner, even the magazines on the table were all arranged in neat stacks. Then there was the smell. Like a thousand different disinfectants all used at the same time. Coupled with the fact that you almost never entered a hospital for a happy reason made Tsuki avoid them like the plague. She nearly never went to the school nurse either.

The nurse opened the door, leading the way down the hall. Tsuki followed, not looking anywhere in particular because she didn't want the people in the beds to think she was rude. She looked down at the floor but the way-too-bright lights reflected in the floors polished linoleum made her left imprints when she closed her eyes so she stopped, opting instead for looking at the wall directly opposite them.

The nurse turned to the beds and then looked at tsuki. Tsuki stopped, taking a deep breath before turning to face the beds, where that same breath was released in a ghasp of amazed surprise and incredulity.

There were a grand total of six people, spread out over six hospital beds. The one Tsuki was looking at right at that moment was the only one who seemed to be unawake.

"Tadao!"

Tadao was seventeen, just a few months older than the girl. They had been childhood friends. He was tall and thin, slightly musceled around the chest and arms. His hair was an unusual length, neither long nor short, but it was scruffy and unkempt. He was pale and looked really ill.

Tsuki looked at the beds beside his. Surely….but yes! More familiar faces. Next to Tadao was Teijo ojiisan, and beside him Flora san, both looking like they'd been through the mill. Teijo, a man in his late seventies, was by far the oldest one there. He was sitting in bed, staring at Tsuki, as though he recognised her, but just didn't know from where. His beady black eyes scrutinised every aspect of her face from under fierce white eyebrows that matched his shock of white hair and beard. His wrinkled face and sunken cheeks when contrasted with the hair, made him look like a mad man.

Flora, a woman in her forties, with light brown hair and brown eyes, was also looking at Tsuki, her gaze inquisitive. She had a kind, round face and was birdlike in her approach to her family, always fixing the nest in some way. She also looked a mess, hair tangled and long.

Beside her were three children, one of which was Flora's son, Saru, and a brother and sister pair. The three of them were sitting on one bed, huddled together, staring around the ward, faces pale and alert.

"Teijo ojiisan, Flora san, Saru kun, Michi kun, Sani chan!" Tsuki mouthed behind the hand she held over her mouth.

The nurse was at her side, explaining.

"The police found them in the town. Apparently they've been seen all over the province, wandering around from town to village. They're all suffering from trauma. And this boy's got Pneumonia." She gestured at Tadao.

"why did you call me? these could've been anybody."

The nurse fidgeted uncomfortably. "in their dreams they scream about a great fire that consumes a city."

Tsuki shuddered, that night had been too painful. That night she'd lost everything. And now….

"there must've been more than one fire during the last few years,"

The nurse looked aside bashfully. "This boy." Again she gestured at Tadao. "has been in a delirium for the past few days. He mentioned the name Tsuki. We asked social services and they confirmed that you…."

"how thoughtful." Tsuki was being sarcastic. It wasn't that she wasn't pleased to see them, far from it. But she was shocked to find that they had escaped, that the idea that she had been alone for years. She had learned to think of herself as the sole survivor, almost as though she were the last of a proud race. Now, there were six others. Was she ready to face trying to be a part of the group again? She had already buried them once.

These six were the last to remain unidentified after the fire. They were marked as "missing presumed dead" in the rubble, ash and ruins of the town. And yet, here they were.

"Who are you?" the old man, who's eyes had never left Tsuki's face for a second.

"sorry?" asked the girl.

"I know you from somewhere. Who are you?"

Tsuki bit her cheek. He didn't recognise her, that was a blow. A severe blow.

"Calm down, old man." Said Flora san. "she's probably one of those bakers."

"the cold hearted bastards. Wouldn't even give the girl a crust!"

"old man, be quiet, you're scaring the children."

Tsuki looked from one to the other during this whole dualogue.

"Teijo ojiisan. Flora san."

Both looked at her, the expressions on their faces inquisitive.

"Who are you talking to, baker's brat?" asked Teijo.

"What do you mean?"

"You called someone."

"I was talking to you."

"Huh?"

"Those are your names!"

"what names?"

"Yours!"

"They're suffering from slight amnesia."

Tsuki stared at the nurse. "you didn't feel like telling me this before now?"

The nurse looked abashed. "if you hadnt been able to identify them….."

Tsuki heaved an exhasperated sigh. Why did things like this always happen to her?

"Teijo" the old man said the name. "Teijo. Teijo."

Now I'm stuck with a parrot, thought Tsuki.

"The name rings a bell." Thank heaven for small mercies.

"Yeh, it's yours." Tsuki was feeling irritated.

"Who are you?" this time, Teijo sounded simply curious.

"My name is Tenshi no Tsuki." She looked at him, wondering what to add to that. Should she tell him about the great fire? Did he already know?

"Tenshi!" the old man screamed. His eyes widened, and he stared at the young girl in front of him with a look of disbelief and shock. Beside him, the woman called Flora had fainted. The children just looked at her.

"Tsuki san!" cried little Sani, jumping off the bed and hugging her around the waist. Tsuki felt her eyes go hot and blinked rapidly. She wasn't the kind of person to cry.

"Tsuki hime." The old man sat up a lot straighter. That did it, Tsuki felt the warm tears cascade down her cheeks. How long had it been since she'd been called that?

When she was a little kid, daughter of the Mayor, she used to think it she was royalty. She had run around the town, calling herself "hime" as in princess. The townsfolk had found it amusing and so the suffix had stuck.

The eyes of the children and Teijo now looked at her with respect and recognition.

"And Jiko san?"

Tsuki shook her head. "he's a hostage."

"A hostage?"

"Do you not remember?"

"We all fainted during the great fire, and we have only just remembered it."

"He's…..he's been taken hostage."

There was a deadly silence.

"Hostage?" the old man sounded affronted. "Those bas….rascals!" he'd nearly sworn, but with two seven year olds and a six year old right next to him, he'd thought better of it.

Tsuki merely nodding, tears coming thick and fast now. She wasn't alone, not anymore. The emotions she now felt were in turmoil, joy mixed with wonder and disvelief. She let go of Sani and pinched her forearm, just to make sure she was awake as opposed to dreaming.

When later she met up with Usopp, she noticed the streaks his tears had left on his face. She realised that hers must look similar. He didn't notice, and no one could blame him, he'd just suffered a severe loss. They boarded the late night train back to the school's town. Usopp asked Ed for a stiff drink.

"Why, what happened?"

Usopp wanted to answer, but couldn't form the words around the blockage in his throat. He swallowed.

"It doesn't matter, just give me a shandy, please."

The barman looked at his tear streaked face and understood that something had gone horribly wrong. he looked at the girl sitting beside his friend. She also had a tear streaked face.

He didn't know what to do in this situation. He didn't want to ask Usopp, and he knew that this was prying but he also wanted to let his friend know that he had his support.

"scuse me miss."

Tsuki looked up, the barman was talking to her?

"Might I ask a favour?"

She nodded, antisocial behaviour was not needed at this moment. He couldn't ask her much, and if he went to far, she simply wouldn't answer.

"Come with me." the barman lead her to the end of the carriage, opening a side door, saying in a carrying voice: "I need a hand bringing out some crisps." Tsuki raised an eyebrow.

When they got to the storage room, for that was where Ed had been leading her, he turned to look at her.

"I'm sorry. I know I should be asking Usopp this question, but I don't want to upset him any more than needs must."

Tsuki looked at him, eyebrow still raised.

"Did Mrs Archer die?" Tsuki blinked, he was blunt.

"she did didn't she? I can tell by your face."

"who are you? Why did you ask me if you know the answer already?"

"My name is Flick Edgar. I've been running this food carriage for years." Indeed, this guy was in his late fifties, early sixties.

"Must've been a long time on this train, ossan." Said Tsuki.

"Yeh, but that's not the point. The point is that since I've been on this train for so long, I know Usopp well. He's been going to see his mother for years, over a decade. I know he's never happy when he returns but today's different. I'm assuming she's moved on."

Tsuki nodded. Now that she knew that the bartender was just confirming suspicions, she felt able to give confirmation.

"Poor lad." Edgar sounded genuinely upset for his young friend. Grabbing a box of crisps, he handed it to tsuki and took a couple himself. They walked back into the room. Neither felt able to look directly at the boy.

"Usopp, I know it's hard, but if you need someone's back you've got mine."

Ed heard something shatter. He span around. Usopp's hand was bleeding where the glass had cracked in his fist. He hadnt noticed, his face was awash with tears.

Tsuki winced. She might look like the Ice Queen, but she didn't like the sight of blood. She walked up to him, forcing his hand off the remnants of the glass, and together with Ed, she cleaned the mutilated appendage and tried to console the boy until they got to the school.

(Dear Readers,

Hi again. Edgar Flick is another random OC, and the survivors are from Anachan's original fic, though, some of the name slots have been filled in by me, with her permission. The fact that Usopp's allowed to order a shandy (beer and lemonade) at 17 is that I live in a country that allows 16 year olds to drink up to 10% alcohol, so I'm not allowing my characters to be illegal.

Can I just put in a request for more reviews please? It's nice to know that a lot of people enjoy reading this with all the favourite story alert thingies, but I'd like some criticism as well. Pretty please?

Thanks for reading.

Elichan)


	22. Chapter 22

And Life Goes On

A pair of boys were standing at the schools gates. One was looking at the happy faces dotted around the concrete jungle that made up the Merry Sunny School playground, feeling something was wrong with this whole scene. The other, on the other hand, was plotting his escape.

"I've got it!"

"Oh god what now?"

"wait and see."

Usopp sighed, luffy had been saying "wait and see" for the past 15 minutes. Lunch break only lasted an hour.

"Luffy, getting out of here on a weekday during lunch bread is impossible, face it."

"It's not a myth if it's been proven."

"Now's not the time to start quoting the One Piece theme tune at me! and this hasn't been proven!"

"I'm about to prove it!"

This provoked another sigh from Luffy's friend. "Fine, be an idiot if you really want."

"Aye"

There's just no talking to idiots. Usopp pulled his phone out of his pocket. 45 minutes till first bell. He'd have a long wait. He looked at his best friend. The dozy eejit was staring at the gate, arms stretched above his head, his tongue poking out of his mouth in a look of complete concentration. Usopp smiled, luffy was the only person on earth who could take the gravity of a situation and make you forget it. If anything, usopp was thankful to have a friend like that right now, especially after that disastrous journey to the hospital.

"Luffy what are you…"

"Gomu Gomu no….."

"Oh god" Usopp muttered, looking away quickly. It was then that he caught sight of a pink hat bobbing among the faces. "Oi, Chopper!" he waved and the pink hat started bobbing in a vague line towards him.

When the boy came in sight, Usopp noticed that he was followed by Eli and James. "Hey guys"

"Hi."

"Sup?"

"what's wrong with luffy?"

"I'm fine, thanks James. As for Luffy, he's plotting an escape."

The boy they were talking about suddenly let rip a loud "ROCKETO!!!!"

"I think we should take him to Doctorine." Eli whispered to Usopp.

"Don't worry, he's just been watching too much One Piece."

"One Piece?"

"It's an anime, I really like it. And since he's my roommate, he ends up watching too."

"Anime?"

"Never mind."

Eli frowned. She didn't like not knowing anything, and unfortunately for her, she'd never really been given a chance to learn much. She let the matter drop, she'd find out for herself.

The story itself is long and convaluted, filed away in government files in the capital, also in medical records of a certain hospital, a copy in the mayor's office in case of emergency and one particular record, different to all the others is kept in a large purple file in the office of one Nico Robin, headmistress of the Merry Dance Sunny Go School for Young Adults.

This last one is the more interesting of all the copies in that it not only holds records of what the officials found, but also Eli's oppinions of what happened to her.

By chance, Robin just happened to be rereading the file in question in her office.

"_June 16 19..._

_ A girl is found in a forest. She appears to be feral, surrounded by a pack of wolves. She has been taken to a mental institute in the nearby town. Chief nurse in charge of her is one Tziganu Preacher. One man died of serious hemorrhaging to the brain after._

_March 30 20..._

_ Preacher names the child Tziganu Eli. It is discovered that she is now 9 years of age, and as she was brought in three years ago, it is estimated that she was 6 when first brought in. the child appears to have learned to parrot a few words. We will mark Preacher's progress. DNA tests are performed on the child, the man who died three years ago is revealed to have been her biological father._

_February 6 20..._

_ After nine years of looking after the girl, now 15, Preacher resigns from the institute. _

_March 5 same year_

_ Preacher changes his name to Basil Hawkins. The girl starts asking questions to her new nurse about his whereabouts. It is remarked that she calls him "father"._

_June 9 same year_

_ Hawkins establishes his own mafia sector in a big city. There is gossip in the institution and the girl reverts to her violent behaviour prior to his care._

_February 16 20..._

_ The hospital has given up hope for this child. She responds to no stimulus and attacks all who go near. It doesn't help matters that the nurses have either grown frightened, or have decided to treat her as a dumb beast._

_June 25 same year._

_ Nico Robin takes the child from the institute to her school._

And so she had. She had taken Eli from that horrid institute where she was treated as being less than human. God, you wouldn't even treat a dog that way. Robin would have a hard time forgetting the girl huddled in a corner of the cell, it didn't even deserve the title of "room", glaring through a black eye at the figures on the other side of the barred door.

Since forcing the institute to release the girl into her care, Robin tried to teach her how to interact with others, feeling all the while like a strange variant of Henry Higgins from "My Fair Lady". In the end, that year was well spent, and Eli joined her class at the age of 16 and a half.

Then there'd been Hell to pay. The roommate she'd been assigned despised her. Tenshi no Tsuki, the only girl with a room to herself due to her apparent mistrust of nearly everyone else, did not take kindly to having to share a room with a strange girl. Especially when she found out that Eli was on probation from the loony bin.

Needless to say, there'd been fights, bullying and humiliation from all sides. Eli'd had come to the headmistresses office on numerous occasions, each time a complaint of isolation, bullying.

Recently, Robin had been hearing less and less from Eli about this matter. She'd been hearing more and more about a certain Luffy and his gang. Tsuki'd had no choice but to accept Eli, the latter persisted and they'd come to a mutual understanding. Still, the insistance on Luffy was noticeable. It was Luffy this and Luffy that.

Robin smiled at the "file of talks". Every student had one, Nami's was the largest, but Eli was catching up. This was mainly due to the diary she was forced to write. Though she was going out with James, she still had a lot more to say about Monkey D Luffy.

Robin smiled. This was one interesting relationship, and one that she felt inclined to monitor. She could see an infatuation and she knew something interesting would come of it.

Just then, her phone beeped. She picked it up. It was a reminder. Flipping open the top, she checked the screen.

**Monday 4****th**** November, he's coming tomorrow.**

Shit, she'd forgotten. The letters had stopped, so she had completely forgotten that that "bureaucratic wimp" as Franky put it was coming to see her tomorrow.

"oh please, oh please, oh please." She murmered. "please, let him not find a reason to close us."

Zoro sat in the pub, a tankard of larger in front of him. He leaned against the bar, drinking deeply. Nothing like a tankard right after school. At least he'd ditched his tracksuit and taken a shower before he'd come out to the "Skull and Crossed Swords". He was wearing his other uniform, a white tshirt and black trousers, separated by a great green sash. Somehow, this uniform made him even more threatening, and the black bandana around his arm didn't help matters. People said it was his sign of mourning, his best friend had died when they were kids, they say he never got over it.

Draining the tankard, Zoro stared at the bottom.

"Oi, ossan. Same again." The barman nodded, putting down the glass he was cleaning.

There was a sudden draught. Zoro glared over his shoulder at the new comers. There were three, all bundled in big black coats, collars concealing the bottoms of their faces and black hats hiding the tops. Suspicious? I think you could say they were drawing attention to themselves by trying not to.

The shortest walked up to the bar. The barman handed Zoro his tankard and looked at the newcomers.

"What can I getcha?"

"You have rooms for travellers, true?"

"True 'tis."

"Good, we want three singles."

"for how long?"

"Just the one night."

"Very good, I'll get the missus to show you them. Would you care for a drink first?"

"No, I'd rather have information. What's that large building on the hill?"

"the best school around, Merry Sunny High."

"Oh, who's in charge?"

"A lovely woman, Nico Robin."

"Thank you. That's all I wanted to know."

The tallest leaned over the bar. "When do they stop for lunch?" he sounded mediterranean, a hint of Italian in his accent.

"Half One, why?"

"We ask the questions." Said the last figure, a long nose just visible under his hat.

"Oh, begging your pardon sir."

"I'm sorry if my brother startled you," said the first speaker, a woman. "a nephew of mine attends this school, and I've come to take him for lunch tomorrow."

The barman nodded, not sure what to do. "I'll get me missus to show you the rooms.

"Thank you."

The three left to the rooms above the pub's lounge. When they came back down, they sat at a table within Zoro's earshot. Lucky for him, he'd heard all they'd said at the bar, and was curious.

"Nice going Kalifa."

"You idiot Kaku, you should loosen up about this mission."

"Sorry."

"At least the other three idiots are in another inn. I don't think I could stand listening to Fukurou, Kumadori and Jyaburi arguing all night."

"Too true, got a point there Lucci. That leaves Spam, Nero and Blueno. Three other tedious ones."

"Look, enough talk." Said the woman. "we're here to talk to Nico Robin and then we leave with the people in question, das alles. For now, lets just have a drink and go to bed."

"Aye aye, Kalifa."

Zoro was confused, he finished up his tankard, paid up and went back to the school. For the first time, he was completely sober when he left the pub.


	23. Chapter 23

Interrogation

Robin sat in her high backed office swivel chair, her face a mask of pleasant surprise at the sight of the man who had just walked through her door. He smiled at her, knowing she was about as pleased to see him as a half eaten scuba diver is happy to see the shark that is chomping its legs.

"Nico Robin." He said, not a question, but a statement. He was nodding, a look of sadistic pleasure plastering itself on his face as she nodded in acknowledgement. He walked into the headmistresses office, flanked by a man with very black hair and a serious expression and a blond woman who had the look of a very strict, if decadent, librarian, she wore glasses and a blank scowl, if it is possible to remain impassive by scowling.

The man who had spoken walked up to Robin, offering his hand. She stood up, forcing herself to take it, her smile, becoming more and more fixed, remaining as he looked her up and down as if she were no more than a common prostitute as opposed to the headmistress of a school.

"I see you've done well for yourself." He said. Robin nodded. "it seems like a decent establishment, and from what I have read in reviews, I hear there is a high percentage of university pupils from here, nearly all of them orphans. Finally getting a moral conscience, Robin?"

It was all Robin could do to prevent herself from correcting his manners for not adding the appropriate suffix after mentioning her name. she nodded.

"That's nice, I didn't really want to take you back to the…" he looked up as the door to the office slammed. He lookd around for the culprit and found Zoro leaning against the wall, one leg resting against it, his arms folded across his chest, head bowed as if bored and eyes closed.

"Ah, yes. Roronoa Zoro. A pleasure." The slimey excuse for a man did not offer his hand to the green haired gym teacher, he turned back to Robin, still admiring her gracious poise, her beautiful black locks and her perfectly shaped body. Well, I say admiring, I mean drooling over in a disconcerting way. He was obviously attracted to her, just in a negative way, even Sanji's fawning was a preferable option.

"Zoro san, what are you doing here?" Robin asked, already flustered because of the way the egocentric man kept looking at her. Her emotions did not need Zoro creating another distraction.

"Had a free and decided that since there was a strange man here, you'd need some support. Come to enrole your kids, ossan?" asked Zoro. The other man's face turned puce and his jaw dropped, making the bizarre mask he wore stretch with it, defying the laws of metal elasticity. In fact, invisible unless you actually looked, there were little telescopic parts on springs to allow for mouth movement.

A description of this slimeball is probably needed at this point. The man hithertoe eyeing up Robin's assets was short, a shock of grizzled white hair ornating his head. However, that was not the only thing adorning his waxy, pockmarked face. He wore a half mask of bronze, which covered one of his bulging eyes, hid his nose completely from view and crossed the right side of his mouth in bands. He was not at all attractive in any way, unless you happened to be a complete weirdo.

The man on his left was his polar opposite. Tall, striking, with voluminous black hair shoved behind his ears, and a tiny beard around the lips, he was incredibly hot, or at least to girls who actually look purely at physiques. Beneath the suit of black linen he wore, a two piece with a black shirt and a black tie, concealed muscles almost as big as Zoro's. His scowl would've been better placed on the face of an emo, had he smiled he'd have been irrisistable.

The woman wore glasses, a black leather dress, whose neckline was ridiculously low, black fishnet tights and black leather stilletto shoes. Her scowl matched the good looking guy's, her blond hair was loose, kept back only by a band around the top of her head.

Zoro looked these two, examining them thoroughly. He nodded.

"Sorry, ossan, these two appear to be a little too old for high school. I'm sorry for my rudeness. would you be enrolling your grandchildren, gramps?"

The little mans face turned from puce to scarlet. If it were possible, steam would start to curl out from around his ears. Suddenly he calmed himself. A broad grin spread across his face, turning steadily into an evil leer.

"lack of etiquette towards an officer. Yes, nothing more than what I'd expect from Nico Robin." Needless to say, Zoro looked stumped. Robin shuddered, this was what she had never wanted to happen, and yet she knew it was inevitable.

"Nico Robin, your under arrest. Again!" cackled the masked man. Robin hung her head. "Lucci, read out the list of criminal activities our dear friend has committed since her last spell in prison." The leer finally took up its character as he finished his sentence.

"yes, idiot captain." Said the goodlooking man, his Italian accent colouring his words, without any feeling, more impassive than seaweed. The scarlet hue returned to the other man's face.

"I told you to address me as Spandam sama!" but the rebuke fell on deaf ears.

"Nico Robin, the crimes you have committed, and for which we of the CPB9, that is Central Police Bureau 9, are arresting you are as follows:

One: the fact that, while still on probation from the previous incident you were arrested for, namely the major drugs operation presided over by McJaws Crocodile, for which he is still in prison and you, the accomplice, left without a glance after having plead "not guilty", you decide to run a school, and herebye allowing young, influencible teenagers and children to be influenced by you as their headmistress.

Two: not only do you run this school, you also employ criminals to teach the children."

"I have done no such thing! All my employees are people who need a job, prove to me that they are criminals, and I shall come quietly."

Lucci examined Robins face with a look of disdain.

"Cyborg Franky, named so for his tendancy to enjoy metallurgy to an almost ridiculous state. Humming Brook, the musician who uses a katana as a weapon, also an ex mafiosi. Then you have the local miscreant, Roronoa Zoro." Lucci jerked his head in the gym teacher's direction. The latter made a noise resembling that of a spit and looked to the side defiantly. "Finally there are the known associates of mafiosi. One, we have information confirming this fact, has just become a big man in the White Beard mafia."

"What? There is no one here befitting that description!" said Robin, as politely as she could.

"oh? So the man calling himself Fire Fist Ace is not employed here?"

"Fire Fist Ace?"

"Pah, that's a college title he won in a boxing arena." Spat Zoro.

"Oh so that's what he claims it is? Well, our informant told us that his real name is Portgas D Ace, does that help?"

A look of horror came across Robin's face as she finally realised the reason behind Ace's new fixation with shirts that resembled Franky's. he had been hiding his tattoo. The White Beard mafia had a rule that anyone who managed to make the big time got a tattoo on his back of White Beard's personal mark.

It wasn't that Robin minded that Ace had done this, for she held the belief that everyone should do what they deem right. But she now couldn't disclose whether or not he had done this, both would have jailed him, for it would become worse for both of them if she was found to have lied. She bit her lip. Noticing this, the sides of Lucci's mouth lifted.

"and then there's the case of Burglar Cat Nami, or if you prefer, Thiefssen Nami."

"What?! You are including students in all this rubish? This is low, even for the CPB9!"

The woman shifted the glasses to a better position on her nose.

"perhaps I should take over from here." She said, her accent hinting at a German origin. Lucci nodded. Spandam just seemed to be trying to capture flies in his open mouth, it was open to such an extent.

"Kakakalifa." He spluttered.

The woman looked at Robin. She continued. "it has been ascertained that Theifssen Nami has been stealing in the name of the brutes calling themselves the Arlong branch. She has been seen entering and leaving the known "palace" of these criminals, and I am certain that she also sports a tattoo, as is their tradition."

Robin just stared, speechless in horror. What was happening to her employees and students. Were they all a bunch of corrupted villains?

"back to the crimes." Said Kalifa, pushing her glasses up her nose again. "three: not only do these criminals teach the students, they also act as mentors to certain students, due to your special orphan confidence boosting system." Robin had no argument for that one. "as well as this, you form a weaponary and fighting club. We can only take precautionary measures to ensure that this is not the forming of a mafia of minors, allowing their activities to go unpunished by the police etc. at least this activity must abandon itself." Robin nodded, that was no hardship.

"and finally there is the case of Tziganu Eli." Robin tensed, this could only be bad news.

"we remain unconvinced that she is no longer a threat to society." I knew it, thought Robin.

"this habit she has of fighting as a "wolf", as she puts it, has nearly killed a student, has it not?"

"I object. She was in full control of her senses. There was no harm committed." Robin put her foot down. She was not about to let Eli get into trouble. Not now, after she'd found herself.

"well what happens when she looses her senses? She is feral, Nico Robin. She has no feelings, she is not a proper human being. She is merely a dog, a puppy. A dangerous puppy that needs to be put down."

Robin's eyes widened. They were going to poison eli? Over her dead body! Then she remembered that that was probably exactly what they wanted to do.

"I refuse to allow you to do that." she hissed. "I am her mentor, I know everything that happens in this school. She has found a home amoung the other students. Do not set the beast withing her loose just to make a point."

"what point?" asked Kalifa, smirking. "we are merely concerned for the safety of the public. And as this child appears as a threat, we have no other choice but to arrest you for allowing her to attack pupils."

"then who's going to make sure she doesn't do it again? She only responds to me, she has confided in me that only I can calm her down sufficiently to allow for her to not want to fight others." Robin thought of the other things Eli had told her, like the fact that she fought with her peers purely because she felt they alienated, hated and even despised her, but that the understanding Robin showed towards her allowed for a calmness to keep her in check. And now there was Tsuki, Luffy, Chopper and Usopp who had accepted the fact that Eli was different, as indeed they themselves were. They had become a kind of group….

Robin train of thought was interrupted as the door crashed open in a cyclone of blue hair, sunglasses, a hawaiian shirt and speedos.

"Robin!" yelled Franky, "Spanda's here and he's after us again!" he paused, noticing the scene in front of him for the first time. "ok, don't tell me. Lemme guess, I'm super late?" he smiled wryly.

A humourous expression of angry incredulity spread rapidly across Spandam's face.

"you got it wrong, Franky." Said Zoro, "he said his name was Spandex."

"oh, I see! I must've been getting it wrong for years. Always called him Spanda!"

"you bastards!" yelled the victim of this conversation. "My name is Spandam!"

"how would you shorten that, I wonder?" thought Zoro.

"Spam?" suggested Lucci, getting dagger eyes from Spandam's general direction.

"As in spam emails?" asked Zoro;

"No, as in the sandwhich ham thing that tastes like shit." Argued Franky.

Robin looked incredulously from one to the other. This was just not real.

Spandam spluttered into angry eruption. "You are both arrested as well as Brook, Ace, Nami, Eli and any other friends she might have."

Robin was about to protest, when Spandam cut her off. "and I don't care if they are only teenagers, they are criminals in the eyes of the law. Kalifa, Lucci, get Kaku and the others to help you gather up those names. Take those two while you're at it."

As every one left, Spandam turned to Robin, allowing his lust take over. His lust which he confused with hatred. He hated Robin so fiercely that as he looked at her, he slapped her across the cheek without warning. Robin was dumbfounded, holding a hand to her cheek.

"you've evaded me long enough, Nico Robin." He smirked, "And now, I will crush you."


	24. Chapter 24

Captured

There was a commotion outside the room. The maths teacher looked up from the smart board where he'd been dabbling in a function analysis. There was a knock at the door.

A man with a heavily made up face and a lot of dyed pink hair peered in.

"Yoyoi! Maay I speeeak with Tziiiiigaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanu Elllllli?"

There was silence, then the teacher nodded.

"Tziganu." He waved her to the door. She stood up and left the room. As soon as the door closed behind her, uproarious laughter could be heard in the classroom.

"shut up" said Usopp to the nearest pple.

"Didn't know there was a kabuki club round here."

"Tziganu takes so long to read, she'll fit right in."

"I said shut up!" Usopp shouted, not loudly but with enough authority and menace to get most of them to shut it.

"back to the differential of…." The teacher turned back to the board scribbling.

Usopp stared at the door, wondering what was happening on the other side.

On the other side of the door, Eli was following this insane looking guy. He'd basically told her to follow him and not to ask questions. Of course, her mind was reeling. What did he want? What was she supposed to have done? who was he, anyway? Why was his hair so long? Why was she asking herself stupid questions?

She sighed. There was no point asking, wait till he stopped.

They walked down the corridor in absolute silence, and kept walking. They walked until they reached Ace's office. Why was she going to see Ace? She hadnt done anything worth the student counsellor's notice, and even if she had, she'd have told Robin. Eli didn't mind Ace, but she just didn't feel able to talk to him.

The odd looking guy she'd been following rapped on the door.

"Yoyoi! I've, I've brought heeeeeeer!"

Eli walked into the room. Oddball had gone in as he'd spoken and was now sitting on the sofa. Ace was at his desk, looking drawn and haggard. The look on his face said plain and clear that he would rather be anywhere but here. upon seeing his face, the girl edged slowly towards the sofa, the only other chair in the room aside from Ace's own. She didn't like this. Not one bit! Not only was she taken out of maths to see Ace, but she had to sit next to Oddball. She looked at Ace, his arms didn't look right.

"Tziganu, I…" Ace began. Then he glared at Oddball. "This is Mr. Kumadori, from the mental institution."

She looked at him, he didn't look like Preacher so he was one of the mean ones. Her demeanor grew icey and she glared at him. Ace gritted his teeth and hissed. She glanced at him, but her focus was on Kumadori.

Ace so didn't want to be here. he hated this whole situation. He was under arrest already, but he had to worm the names of Eli's friends out of her. The moment she had entered the office, he'd decided not to do anything of the sort. Not that he'd had it in mind much, but it wasn't as if he'd had the choice. They'd brought her here and told him he was to squeeze her for the information they wanted. Well he wouldn't!

"Tziganu, return to your class, I'll talk to the…gentleman."

"oh no, chapapapa." A voice came from behind the two on the sofa. Ace had been keeping an eye on him for the past fifteen minutes it had taken to be cuffed to his chair and for them to find and bring her. Naturally, he'd struggled. That is until they'd taken off his shirt. He was cornered and he knew it.

"No, no no." another oddball, this one looking like a potato on legs. "You can't be letting her go, chapapapa. We need to make sure she's settled in properly."

Eli jumped and inspected the second stranger. An obese man with a zip for a lip piercing was standing behind the sofa. She'd been so focussed on oddball Kumadori that she hadnt noticed him.

"More of you?" was all she could say.

Ace couldn't help chuckling. The girl probably thought that the mental institution was run by idiots more insane than the patients they were supposed to "protect society from". If she wasn't, then he was.

"Yoyoi! Could you, cccoooooooould yoou, shuuuuut up?"

Ace blinked, Oddball original was asking him to shut up. "sorry?"

"Ah, what an unhonourable thing to say! I apologise, allow me to take my life for the slight."

What's with these loons? Ace was running the risk of losing an eyebrow under his hat.

"I cant find my tanto!"

Eli, who was already sitting as far to the edge of the sofa was instantly sitting on the arm.

"Please, let me stand!" she begged Ace.

"let you?!"

"You said "sit", so let me stand!" Ace's eyebrow disappeared, along with it's twin, under the brim of his orange hat.

"Stand then." He was confused!

She almost leapt off the arm of the sofa, falling on her hands and knees to its front. She scrambled away before standing. If ace's eyebrow's could go higher, they'd be in orbit round the earth.

"I see." Said a hitherto unnoticed voice. An Italian voice.

"Lucci san." The tall, dark haired man was standing in the doorway. Nobody had heard him enter and the door was now closed.

"The public is indeed at risk." Said Lucci, as though confirming a long held hypothetical conclusion.

Eli stared from one to the other, making a strange noise at the base of her throat. Could it be a growl? What was going on? Ace's head was in turmoil. This girl was weird, these lunatics were literally off the wall. Was the world turning against him?

"We have no choice, gentlemen." Said the Italian bloke. "there is no time to search for affiliations. We have to use the sedative."

"WHAT THE FUCK MAN!" ace couldn't contain himself any longer. He tried to release his hand from the cuff. Or break the chair, he didn't mind which. Was he supposed to just sit there and watch them treat a student like an animal?

But the chair never gave, and the cuff didn't slip. "Fuck!" Ace turned his full attention to removing the cuff from the leg of the swivel chair. Until he heard the growling.

He looked up. Eli was on all fours, crouched down. Ace's mouth fell open. What had happened to reality?

She leapt at Lucci, pinning him to the floor, snarling. I've gone mad, thought ace, I've lost the plot. He was blinking. He probably looked like a fish right this second, but he didn't care. The walking potato was at Lucci's side immediately, pulling a syringe from his pocket and injecting it into Eli's neck. The girl went limp and fell on top of Lucci, who pushed her off him and stood up, brushing the invisible dirt from his black suit trousers.

"I rest my case." He said coldly and with a note of finality that shook ace to the core of his being.

"Fukurou, you take her. Kumadori, you take Fire Fist. We're going back to Spam." Said Lucci, and potato had picked Eli up and thrown her over his shoulder, after having cuffed her, and oddball had taken him. He was too stunned by what had just happened to take in the fact that this was happening.

"I've been sent to see you because I deliberately hit the bitch in gym with a hockey stick." Said an all too familiar voice.

The room froze. Kumadori had just cuffed Ace's hands together. Ace's already slack jaw was in dangerous risk of falling through the floor. Tsuki was standing in the doorway, mouth open, staring from the unconscious Eli over Fukurou's shoulder to the cuffed Ace and back.

"What's going on?"

"Tsuki, leave!"

"Ace?"

"Get out." He sounded demanding.

"I'm not gonna leave you and Eli here like this!" she folded her arms across her chest.

"Admirable sentiment." Said the deep Italian voice. "would you consider yourself her friend?"

Tsuki turned to look at the leader of this operation.

"Tsuki." Called Ace, before she could even hope to reply. "we've been arrested. Us, Robin, Brook, Franky and Nami. Go back before you are too."

"But…"

"Go!"

Tsuki looked stunned, Ace had never spoken to her like that before! She found herself running off, just as a woman dragged Nami down the corridor. The girl was screaming for help, struggling like a fish out of water that is caught in a net. For once, Tsuki pitied her.

"Tsuki!" Nami had spotted her. "Help me!"

Tsuki clenched her teeth, she could do nothing on her own. Not against a bunch of police men.

No, not on her own. But with others…….. she turned and raced down the corridor.

"Shall I go after her?" the woman asked Lucci.

"Don't bother, it's not as if she can do anything against us."

Fuck, you'd have thought that it would've been easy to find five people in this school! Tsuki ran to the gym hall. The second gym teacher was there. She'd been employed recently to take care of half the gym cycles, there being too many students to leave to zoro all the time.

"Laki san!" she yelled. The woman looked up. She was pretty, with long dark hair and a more-ish face. One of Eli's descriptions Tsuki had adopted. She said it mean that once you looked at her, you wanted to look at her more.

"Where's Zoro!"

"I don't know. Calm down Tsuki."

"No, I need to find Zoro!"

"he's probably with the headmistress." That was all Laki managed to say before Tsuki ran out of the room. Where she ran into Usopp and Luffy.

"Watch where you're going." Usopp grumbled. He was in a bad mood. Eli hadnt come back, which was rather worrying.

"Good I've found you two." Tsuki grabbed their arms and dragged them away from the hall.

"Hey!"

"Shutup!"

"I'm not getting an undeserved absence!"

"I don't care!"

Luffy was laughing his head off. "where're we going?"

"to find sanji, chopper and James. Zoro too if we're on time."

"Why?!" Usopp was amazed by her choice of people.

Tsuki stopped, she finally allowed the worry she was feeling colour her voice.

"Because Eli, Ace, Nami, Brook san, Robin San and Franky have been arrested. If Zoro was with Robin, he was probably arrested too."

"WHY!?" both boys asked at once.

"If I knew why, I wouldn't be trying to rally up troupes! I'd be arguing their defence! I'm sure they're innocent. But I can do nothing if I don't know what those bastards are up to."

"Right!" Luffy looked determined.

The other two looked at him.

"Lets go find the others!"

They nodded. "Chopper has Chemistry with Kureha, I'll go there." Said Usopp. Luffy nodded. Tsuki was stunned, the authority of this situation had turned to him.

"Tsuki, you go find Sanji. I'll go find James, he has English."

"How're we gonna get them out of class?" asked Tsuki.

Luffy grinned. "wait right here." he ran to the changing room and returned with a mobile phone. Tsuki stared, he really wasn't such a moron after all.

"Usopp! Send them a message to meet at the toilets!"

Tsuki's admiration faded. He couldn't send texts himself?

"Roger!" Usopp began manipulating buttons. "done." he said after a few moments.

"I'll go get sanji, then."

Luffy nodded, grinning widely. To describe the grin, the phrase "smile bigger than a peeled banana" springs to mind. "Thanks!"

Nodding at each other, they ran, the boys to the boys toilets, Tsuki towards the Caffeteria. Sanji'd better move. His beloved Robin chan and Nami san were in danger.

"Not to mention the best friend you've got, along with your boyfriend." She muttered to herself.


	25. Chapter 25

"Remember, remember the 5th of November"

The caff was deserted. Good! Now to find Sanji.

Tsuki ran over to the hole in the wall.

"SANJI!" she literally hollered. She heard a crash from behind the hole.

"Tsuki chan! You have finally realised you love me!" somehow Sanji seemed to be doing the noodle dance, even thought it is impossible.

Tsuki was fuming! This fecking eejit wasn't aware! Well she'd soon put a stop to that.

"You IDIOT!" she slapped his face. He blinked. "Don't you realise they've been arrested!"

Sanji's face contorted itself from one of messing-around-amorousness to down-to-earth-solemnity.

"Who's been arrested?"

"Almost everyone! Robin, Zoro, Franky, Brook, Ace, Nami and Eli."

"Who's Eli?"

Tsuki ground her teeth! "Now's not the time for stupid questions! She's my roommate!"

"What! Why have they been arrested?!"

"I don't bloody know!"

Sanji's cigarette had fallen out of his mouth when he'd jerked out of his chair behind the hole. He was now fumbling with the box.

"Shit I'm out." He looked at her, a question in his eyes.

"I told you I don't smoke!"

"Shit."

Tsuki's hands balled into fists. She was surrounded by idiots!

"Oi! We came here!"

"Don't take the credit for Chopp's idea!"

"I didn't."

And here come the clowns! Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and James. Luffy looked like a little kid about to go on a field trip, the rest looked sufficiently worried.

"Right, that makes all of us, lets go!" Luffy said, heading for the door that led to the courtyard, heading in a vague direction towards the exit.

"Wait, hold up a sec! there are NO adults?"

"Define adults? Sanji's coming and he's legal."

"There's no one over 21?"

"No James. But who can we trust with this? Who'd risk their necks?" Tsuki sounded exasperated and desperate.

"Franky. Or Marimo."

"Who are both currently under arrest."

"Come on lets just go!" Luffy steered the kid towards the door.

"Why!?"

"Because we promised, didn't we?"

"What?"

"That day at Sanji's resto! We're a mafia now, and some people are arrested. We've gotta bust them out of there."

Now there were two who were trembling in their boots; James and Usopp. Chopper looked scared but determined.

"You guys are crazy." They all turned to look at Sanji. He was looking at them with an air of superiority. "You think you can just waltz up to the government and say "hey, give us back our mafia gang" and leave?"

"Well, that was my plan."

"Luffy, you're a moron, did I ever tell you that?" Usopp gathered his wits enough to say.

"Yep." He turned back to Sanji. "So how would you do it?"

"I wouldn't, I have a…." Sanji broke off. He didn't. he didn't have a job anymore. Robin wasn't there to hire him. He sighed.

"They took Eli?" James looked dazed, he'd been dating a criminal?

"Yeh."

"Then her family has to deal with it." sanji said. He didn't really care for her anyway.

"She doesn't have any."

"Then leave it for social services."

Tsuki gritted her teeth. She'd been told never to reveal this. She'd been told about Eli when they'd asked her to share her room. But she had to tell them, or they'd leave her to the bastards.

"She's been in a mental institute for the past 10 years. She sometimes becomes feral." That was all she was prepared to say.

"OH!" sanji suddenly realised who they were talking about. "Her! The short girl with green eyes who stomped on my eye!"

"Yes!" said Chopper and James in unison. The others asked "Stomped on your eye?"

Sanji lifted his fringe to reveal a lovely blue black eye.

"Let's go already!" Tsuki was getting impatient. The police would be out of here by now. Eli'd be lying unconscious in the backseat of a police vehicle for no apparent reason, Ace too!

"Right! Operation "save the others" has started!" yelled luffy, jumping into the air on one foot.

"Oi! Don't include people who…"

"Oh, so you'd leave Nami to be mass raped in a prison cell?"

"What?"

"Well, she's going to prison, and they say that the only prison for miles around is mixed. Who knows what could happen in a prison full of sex deprived men. and not just her, there's Eli and Robin too." Call me a "honey tongued quibbler" but I need him to react! Thought Tsuki.

The remark had the desired effect. Sanji's face went red with fury, his teeth and fists clenched. "Robin chan and Nami san. Sex deprived….unforgivable!" he muttered.

"That settles it, lets go!" Tsuki lead the small group out of the caff, running towards the entrance. Then she was overtaken by Luffy.

"Oi!" she barked, this was her expedition.

"Sorry. But I'm leader." He grinned back at her, leaving her behind with a gobsmacked expression on her face.

Underneath the admin building, a lone figure was cluttering around. He had a box of matches in his hand. Taking one out he struck it once, twice, thrice against the sandpaper side till it lit itself.

Spandam looked down into the long tunnel. This tunnel served as the schools evacuation escape route in case of a maniac on the loose with a gun. He walked down, match held aloft, till it ran out and he pulled another from the box.

It was while he was changing matches that he tripped over something. A box. He looked down. Surely, if this was lurking all the way down here, it must be proof that Nico Robin was indeed still handling drugs and dealing. Dropping the match, he bent down next to the box, pulling another.

He struck it, and tried to peer inside. That's when he heard the fizzing. The match he'd just dropped had caught fire and had….lit a fuse. The fuse to a rocket. He looked at the box.

**Merry Sunny Guy Fawkes Firework Display, keep out of reach of students and keep away from fire.**

Spandam ran for his life as a humongous explosion erupted behind him.

The girl ran. She ran like her life would end if she didn't. she rand blindly, trying desperately to avoid the flames licking at the blazing school behind her. The boys behind her ran similarly, Sanji at the rear hurrying them along before they fried. All around them, they could hear the screams of other students, either running as they were or trapped in the buildings. The wailing of sirens, the police and the fire department.

A piercing scream came from behind them. Tsuki turned to look. Hamlet James was on fire, uselessly beating at the flames.

"Shit! Luffy, take the others and go!"

"But…"

"GO!"

She ran back, sanji with her, together they pushed James to the ground rolling him over and over in the dirt bank nearest them. The one where Nami had tripped Eli up all those months ago. The one next to the fence by the gyms. They rolled him into the mud, but by the time they'd managed to beat away the last of the flame's even a medical moron like tsuki could tell that they were too late.

His breathing was ragged, his skin red and black, torn in places, blood running in rivulets down his face and hands. He was about to die, he knew it and they knew it. with his dying breath, he looked at Tsuki.

"i….nenever…saw….her….smsmile." and with those words, his eyes closed and he lay there, a sorry sight for anyone to see.

Tsuki didn't feel the tears streaking her cheeks. Didn't feel the aching in her throat as she stifled the sobs. She only saw her school burning, the only place in the world she might've called "home" now, but that had burnt too. She looked at James.

I'm cursed, she thought. Cursed, everywhere I go, things burn. My friends are on the run, my boyfriend's arrested. Everyone I know dies eventually but always before their time.

Sanji was tugging at her sleeve, yelling that they had to leave. She followed, but now she ran as though in a dream. Would she ever see anyone again?

They got to the gate. It was swamped with people. 90% of the students and teachers had made it out. The remaining ten were trapped in the flames.

"This is all your fault, Tenshi." Tsuki turned to see who was talking to her. A girl with green eyes and bleached blond hair.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked, trying to keep her voice straight, through her eyes felt as if they were about to burn her skull. She could already feel the poison dart they'd left in her brain.

"McNoodle Nancy." The girl folded her arms. "if Ace aniki cant be mine, he'll never be yours." There was a moments pause.

"You ratted on him?"

"Yes."

Tsuki straightened herself, glaring at this little bitch. She'd grassed on Ace. Just because he'd chosen her over some boyish brat. She punched Nancy in the face. Or at least she tried. A hand closed over her wrist.

"Luffy!"

"Enough." His voice was deep and with a solemnity worthy of funeral bells. Tsuki looked at him, his voice had sent frissons down her spine.

"Luffy, she sold him out!"

"I don't care. We have to go save him."

Tsuki looked aside, then back at Nancy. "Count your blessings. Had Luffy not been here, you'd have died from something a hundred times worse than that fire." And so saying, she turned and followed the boy with the straw hat into the city streets.

That night, as they watched the local news, the parents of Hamlet James learnt of their son's death.

"It is thought," the newsreader said. "that someone carelessly set off a firework next to the 5 crates of fireworks left in the administrative building for tonights annual display…."

Mrs Hamlet sobbed into her husbands arms. At the same time, the gang of the three teenage boys and the one girl stopped and held a one minute silence for a friend they had lost.

"James, we'll never forget you." Said Chopper. He and Luffy had taken off their hats.

"Come on." Said Sanji. "We cant, absolutely cant, afford to lose the others."

The others looked at him. "after all. We're a team now."

They nodded and faced the sunset, setting off at a run for somewhere, anywhere, that their friends might have been taken.

(dear Readers,

Hey, you've finished the first part. sorry, i just had so many ideas they'd be really difficult to read if it was one long slog through. so I decided to halve it. See you in the next half. Elichan)


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